A Jinchuuriki's Destiny
by AmusedLight
Summary: Taken away from his home, used as an slave, he escapes only to be roaming in a galaxy far away from home, Naruto finds out his past, his heritage and vows to change it Naruto/Harem. crossovers included.
1. The Ripple

** Thanks to thedarkwolf95's comment about the Clone Wars timeline, we have decided to change the AJD timeline and characters a bit. Thanks for that.**

* * *

**[Valley of the End]**

The Valley of the End is the place where the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound meet. However, to the citizens of Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leafs, it was a memorial. A memorial dedicated to the battle between Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.

Many years ago, an incredible battle took place there, where Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, clashed with the legendary Madara Uchiha. Madara, who had become disillusioned with the foundation of Konoha, used his Sharingan to take control of the Nine-Tailed Fox, using it as his weapon against the first Hokage. No longer believing that peace can be achieved with diplomacy and kindness, he decided that peace can only be achieved through domination and power.

The battle was fierce, and the battle was destructive. The land around them was torn apart, shredded into oblivion as the two titans fought. Hills and rivers were born and destroyed as the result of the final battle between the Uchiha and the Senju clan. The earth shook as the Kyuubi roared alongside with Madara. The sky screeched as fire, lightning, and earth rained from above and below.

Despite Madara Uchiha giving it his all, in the end, he had lost, slain by the man known as the First Hokage, but also as the man that was once his best friend. Hashirama, who mourned the loss of his friend, decided to create two large statues of himself and his friend, as a tribute to his friend.

However, history has a funny way of repeating itself. Or more accurately, history has a funny way of rhyming like a tragic poem.

This is the case of Sasuke Uchiha, the last member of the Uchiha clan, save for his elder brother, who had slain his own clan members, sparing only his baby brother. Consumed by hatred, Sasuke had vowed revenge against his sworn enemy, doing whatever it took to become strong enough to kill his brother. That is when Orochimaru the serpent slithered into the garden, promising Sasuke power if he switched allegiances. After a few days of hesitation, Sasuke accepted his offer, defecting to the Sound Village with the help of Orochimaru's elite servants.

However, his defection did not go unnoticed. Tsunade, the newest Hokage for the village, had sent a team to retrieve Sasuke. That team consisted of Shikamaru, a member of the Nara clan; Kiba, a member of the Inuzuka clan; Choji, a member of the Akimichi clan; Neji, a member of the Hyuga Clan; and finally, Naruto, the unknowing last member of the Uzumaki Clan.

Naruto was the most special member of them all, in more ways than one. For one, he was the carrier of the Nine-Tailed Fox, which had laid heavy destruction to Konoha a few years ago. Because of his fate as Konoha's jinchuuriki, he was seen as the demon itself, and was ostracized from society. This might have crushed the souls of lesser men, but Naruto used his bitter life as motivation to prove his worth to his village. Declaring his goal to become the Hokage, he worked hard to become stronger. Eventually, the boy did grow stronger, meeting incredible foes and allies alike, and even learning some powerful techniques along the way, which included the Shadow Clone technique and the Rasengan.

Naruto, the energetic boy full of spirit, had eventually made some friends along the way, including his rival, Sasuke. They didn't always get along, but they had eventually grown to respect each other, and at some point, they eventually developed what some would call an odd type of friendship.

That bond, however, is currently being tested now, as Sasuke and Naruto were now at the Valley of the End. They had been fighting for a few minutes, and at the moment, they were both evenly matched, both in skill and determination.

"Sasuke…" Naruto's appearance had changed as he was using the same energy he'd used fighting against Gaara. He now had claw like hands and his teeth had sharpened like a fox, with his blue eyes turning angry red. "I will take you back to the village even its the LAST thing I will do!" Naruto yelled, running towards him over the water and throwing a powerful punch at the cursed-seal form Uchiha, who was sent back into the stone wall with a loud CRASH! The Uchiha was sent flying back so hard that it crushed the mountain wall behind him, causing some dust and debris to fall on him.

No movement was seen in the crater for a good five minutes, giving Naruto little breathing time.

"Don't be foolish…" Sasuke finally spoke out from the crater he now stood in. He slowly walked out of the crater, now fully transformed into his cursed seal form. His skin turned dark-grey like his eyes, and his hair grew longer as they turned dark blue. Sprouting from his back were webbed-claw-shaped wings from his back, and a star-shaped mark appeared across the bridge of his nose.

Sasuke, now in his fully formed cursed form, shouted, "And why do you even care?! Like I said, you never had a family! You've always been alone! So don't try to stop me!"

This had hit a nerve for the young blonde. Naruto wished he had the words to convince him from turning away, but he knew that Sasuke had a point. He never grew up with a mother cooking for him, since he had to catch food and cook it himself. He never had a father to teach him anything until he finally got to the academy, where he began to learn how to read and write. Growing up alone with no one to look after him, he learned quickly how to survive on the streets after being kicked out of the orphanage until a few folks came into his life to help him out. Like the late Third Hokage, who he called Old Man, who gave him a home to sleep in, and Iruka, who helped him after school hours to learn how to read and write.

Then came others like Shikamaru and Choji, who didn't shun him away like the other kids, and frequently hung out with him. Then came the whole Team 7, the very same team that he hung out with. The very same group of people that he ate with, fought with, argued with, and had fun with. The very same team that made him feel like he was a part of a family..

Then there was Haku, the rogue shinobi who he met before the fight on the bridge, who taught him that true strength came from protecting those you love. Even though he turned out to be the enemy, in the end Naruto knew that they were never truly enemies, and that perhaps in another life, they could've been friends.

And then there was Gaara. Poor, lonely Gaara, who was a fellow jinchuuriki who had it even worse than him. Gaara, who everyone hated and shunned, including his own father. Poor Gaara, who had nobody to tell him that it was alright, and that the world hasn't abandoned him.

Then he came along-an outsider from a different village that he was attacking. He, who understood his pain better than anyone else, even though Gaara had a sister and a brother to grow up with. He was the one that healed Gaara's wound, and was the first time to that stopped to realize who he was, and what he was not. He was the first one to not call him a monster, but rather, a friend.

He had found people to care about, and thus, people to protect, and he was not going to let his loved one get lost in a mission for revenge that he may never walk away from. "Even if I don't know how you went through without your family, you still need to know," Naruto started channeling huge amounts of chakra into the palm of his hand. "That you've still got memories of them while I didn't And you still got people that care about you! And I'll be damned if I let you turn your back on them!"

It could've been just him, but for a split second, he thought he saw pain in Sasuke's eyes. For a fraction of a second, he thought that his eyes, which was full of anger and hatred, dim a little, as if remembering all the memories he shared with Naruto. Every good and bad moments that they shared, and even in the rare times that Sasuke would smile, which would always send Sakura into a cheer.

Then that moment was gone, sadness and regret being consumed by the black fires of rage and hatred.

"Enough! Let's end this!" Sasuke yelled as he summoned his next attack with the remaining chakra he had left in his body, running towards Naruto with the sound of a thousand chirping birds coming out from his hand that was filled with lightning.

"CHIDORI!"

"RASENGAN!" Naruto's hand was filled with his most powerful technique as he rushed towards his friend. His arm stretched forward, he summoned every bit of energy he had left in his bones. He would not let the one person he considered the closest as a brother to the despair of revenge…

"I'LL TAKE YOU BACK TO THE VILLAGE, NO MATTER WHAT!"

The two techniques combined with an overwhelming force, that it had an unintended reaction that soon not only was felt around the area, but also into places no one expected.

The two techniques clashed once again, making the air and the water ripple with pure power. The two boys screamed as they fought for dominance, not willing to lose their battle.

Naruto felt many things in that moment.

Fear. The fear of losing his friend, and fear of losing this battle.

Hatred. Hatred for everything that's happened to him, everything that he missed out on that Sasuke was taking for granted, even after everything he had lost and still had.

Sadness. Sadness for the fact that one of his only friends was going to leave him for power.

Anger. Anger at everything. At his shitty life. At the way Gaara was treated. At the way that Sasuke made Sakura cry. At the way that he made him cry. At the way that Sasuke was just going to throw everything away for revenge, even the people that still cared about him. Anger at the fact that Sasuke got everything from the start, while he lost everything at the beginning.

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly as he felt his attack being pushed back. Something was changing. Something was different. Naruto's attack seemed to have been growing stronger, and it was pushing him back!

Little did the both of them know, that somewhere else in the vast universe, other people were also feeling this change. This surge of power, which Sasuke and Naruto was barely comprehending, was being felt on the other side of the galaxy.

* * *

**24 BBY - [Coruscant; Jedi Temple]**

Meanwhile, on a planet that was countless lightyears away from the planet that Naruto and Sasuke were on, there was a disturbance amongst a certain group of people.

On Coruscant, in the middle of the biggest city of the Grand Republic, was a temple, lived more than 10,000 Jedi, who were wielders of the Force that called this place their home, with Jedi Masters teaching their Padawans and younglings the ways of the Force in their daily lessons.

No, the disturbance didn't come from the fact that dozens of Star Systems just left the Republic, forming into what they called themselves "The Confederacy of Independent Systems." No, the disturbance had nothing to do with politics. Instead, it was the Force itself, or rather, something disturbing the once tranquil pond.

In that singular, simultaneous moment, every single Jedi froze in their steps. Some were bathing. Some were training. Some were reading. Some were teaching the younglings. Some were meditating. Regardless, every single one of them felt a shockwave in the Force, as if a large rock had suddenly been dropped into the pond, and they were the fish that was feeling the impact.

The younglings fell on their knees, unsure of how to deal with the wave of emotions that was overwhelming them. Fear. Anger. Hatred.

The Dark Side.

The knights and the padawans all stumbled on their feet, as if an earthquake had rocked the land, leaving them gasping for air.

Meanwhile up above, the Jedi Masters weren't doing much better. They all shuddered at the sudden wave of dark emotions. They all shivered at the feeling that most hadn't felt in many years, if ever.

The Dark Side.

"The Sith?"

Mace Windu closed his eyes to try figure out through the Force what that was; the strong surge of power was still present, and what he saw was terrifying:

A large, fox with nine tails snarling as it roared in what he assumed to be in rage. It's glowing, red eyes then looked at Windu, and he could look no longer.

One of the Masters, a small, Lannik male named Piell, put his hand over his head. "This presence…I've never felt anything like it before."

Another master, a Togruta female by the name of Shaak Ti, who wasn't normally the type to be easily rattled, found herself to be stunned by this anomaly.

"This isn't normal." She murmured. "It feels...so...different."

Yoda, on the other hand, was very calm, years of training keeping him focused and calm as everyone else was too busy chatting about what the new element could be.

"It must've been Dooku, no doubt about it."

"No, not even Dooku is that powerful." Plo Koon, a masked Kel Dor said, scratching his chin. "This is something far more powerful. Something far more...potent in the dark side of the force."

"Fear…"

All the other masters present in the room turned to the small, Grand Master, who spoke, his quiet voice instantly commanding their attention.

"Master?" Shaak Ti asked.

"Fear...hatred…" The small, green Jedi continued, before opening his eyes. "Anger...sadness." Yoda slowly listed. "The feelings of a boy. Pain, he is in. Terrible pain."

That honestly surprised many of the Jedi masters, their first assumption being that the source was coming from a Sith, but when Master Yoda named up the emotions, they began to wonder otherwise.

Windu snapped out of his shock quickly, silently noting that the last time the Grand Master felt something like this, it was with the future Padawan Skywalker, who, for some reason, was on Tatooine.

"Pinpoint the location we must." Yoda declared. "Of the source of the power, finding out we must."

"Somebody get to the communication center." Windu commanded. "We need to try and find out where this power is coming from."

"Not on regular map, this will be found." Yoda said, gained their attention again while standing up from his seat. He began to walk towards the exit. "The Jedi Archives, go we must."

"Why, Master?"

"Power like this, I'm familiar with." Yoda just kept walking as he thought back on it. "Felt this I never had, not since Padawan days of mine…"

This, again, stunned some of the other Jedi Masters. His Padawan days? That was almost over 600 years ago. Did the Grand Master know something the others didn't?

"Never felt this since…that terrible battle in Elementia."

…

**[Jedi Archives]**

In the midst of the Archives, many of the Jedi were still trying to cope with what they just felt through the force. Those who were more experienced quickly got a hold of themselves ,and were trying to help the younger ones who were struggling with the surge.

One of those who was helping out a young padawan was Jocasta Nu, who was comforting a young Togruta girl, who was covering her ears as she was tearing up.

"Be calm, young one." She whispered to her in a calm tone. "I'm here for you, nothing will happen."

"This anger, Master." The youngling shrieked, with tears falling down her cheeks. "Why is it so angry?" This was happening all over the temple, with Jedi Knights and Masters suddenly found themselves trying to help the Padawans and the younglings from going into panic attacks, as they weren't prepared for such an intense wave of the Dark Side. It grew so bad that even the medical bay had to send droids into the Archives to help out.

A few exceptions to that was one Anakin Skywalker, who just got back with Obi Wan Kenobi from a Senate meeting, and felt that powerful surge of the Dark Side just when they returned to the temple.

Stumbling, Padawan Anakin Skywalker had to take a moment to recover himself, alongside of Obi Wan. After a minute of meditation, Anakin was finally calm enough to finally analyze the situation in front of him. Anakin found himself dumbfounded by the amount of Jedi who were being helped by the others. "Master, have you seen something like this before?"

"No, Anakin." Obi Wan calmly answered that question while observing the scene, quite stunned by this as he wondered where that surge came from. Just then, he noticed Master Yoda and almost all of the Council Members following the Grand Master walking towards the Holocron Vault.

Walking up to them was Jocasta Nu, who was quietly asking the Grand Master, "Master Yoda, that power...the Padawans, they-"

"Please, Master Jocasta." Yoda said while continuing to walk towards the vault. "The vault in, I must."

"If you say so." Master Jocasta stepped aside as Yoda walked up to the Holocron Vault.

Yoda raised his hand, and unlocked the Vault with the Force. "Wait here, you must."

The other masters understood him, and watched the Grand Master walk inside the vault alone. The moment the eldest Jedi stepped inside, the vault closed right behind him.

…

If any normal civilian were to enter the Holocron Vault, the first thing they would notice would be the impressive amount of glowing, metal boxes, which contained priceless information that only the Jedi could access. If they stayed long enough, they would also notice how eerily quiet the tomb-like vault really is, with the only sounds they might hear would be their own breathing, or in this case, the sound of Yoda's cane tapping as he walked leisurely to his destination.

This is one of the many ways the Jedi are so different than the average person. This is also one of the many reasons to how different a Master is to a youngling. If Yoda concentrated hard enough, he would've been able to hear every single one of the Holocrons, each of them whispering their messages to the powerful force-wielder.

This would drive any normal person or even a youngling mad, which is why it's also a blessing that only Masters can automatically hear them, for only the Masters have a high enough skill to block out the endless chatter that would arise from the glowing, blue boxes.

_'Found it, I have.'_ Yoda thought to himself as he raised his hand.

With a quiet hiss, one of the holocrons popped out of the wall. It gently floated towards Yoda's awaiting hands. He cradled the holocron with care, as if one would care for a hatching egg - or a thermal detonator.

"Long time has it been, holding this." Yoda stared at the holocron, which held the knowledge of ancient history that he was unfortunate to be a part of. Locked away in this holocron, he had hoped that he would never have to open it again. Sadly though, the force had just proven him wrong, and it would appear that he would have to return to that planet.

Turning around while holding the holocron, he made his way back towards the exit of the Vault and prepared himself for the reactions those who would find out that a secret was being held from them for almost over seven centuries.

…

In the Jedi Temple Communications Center, seats and spots were being taken as it was being filled with Jedi of all ranks, including some younglings, who had calmed down at this point, and was more curious than terrified at what could've caused "The Ripple", as some have already dubbed it.

Windu walked up to the holoprojector table. Turning on the map, all of the lights dimmed down, with the only source of light being the glowing, holographic map of the galaxy, which almost took up the whole room. Yoda walked up to the holoprojector, and placed the holocron on the floor just in front of it.

"What's the master doing?" One youngling whispered.

"I don't know, maybe it has something to do with that sudden surge we had felt."

All chatter stopped when Yoda sat in his meditative position as he began to concentrate into the Force. Everyone knew to remain silent as possible, else they accidentally interrupt the wise master while he was connecting to the Force.

The holocron began to slowly open, splitting itself into dozens of pieces. All of those pieces floated away from each other as a small, ball of light rose up from the holocron. The ball of light floated upwards towards the holoprojector, before it began to glow brighter, the small ball of light becoming a miniature sun, blinding anyone who didn't cover their eyes immediately.

"Ah, my eyes!"

"Too bright!"

"What the kriff?!"

The brightness only lasted for a brief moment before it dimmed down, allowing every Jedi in the room to see again. When they looked around, they noticed that the Galactic map was still there, and that Master Yoda was now standing on his feet again. At first everyone thought that nothing had happened, until a youngling noticed something.

"Look!" A small, Twi'lek youngling pointed upwards the map. "Over there!"

Everyone looked up, but didn't see what the Youngling meant until Anakin noticed where the young boy was pointing at. Right at the southern sectors of the Outer Rim, just underneath the Sujimis and the Samix sector, now laid another sector in place of the void that was previously there.

"No way." This got Anakin to speak out. "There! That's an-"

"Yes, young Skywalker. A secret sector, it is." Yoda replied to Anakin's outburst. "Kept in the dark, everyone were. Two more planets with life, there are. Called the Omega Sector, it is. The planets, Elementia and Earth."

This took everyone by surprise, with many of them, younglings included, being excited to find out about a new life somewhere around the Galaxy, while others were wondering why this was kept a secret by the Grand Master.

One of those Jedi was Oppo Rancisis, a Jedi Master who was a Thisspiasian male, and also one of their oldest members, wondered why Yoda has kept this all a secret. "Massster Yoda, what'sss the meaning of thisss? Keeping the exissstence of thisss inhabited sssector away from the ressst of the Galaxy?"

"I would like to know myself, Master." Ki-Adi-Mundi, a male, Cerean Jedi Master asked calmly.

"Different reasons, both planets have." Yoda said solemnly. "Both planets, extremely unaware, life beyond their planets they don't know. No knowledge of each other, they do not." Yoda's ears then drooped in weariness. "...Violent, both planets are."

"How violent do you mean by that, Master?" Master Luminara questioned, who was an Mirialan female Jedi who just got back from Kashyyyk with her padawan, Barriss Offee.

"Many wars experienced, Earth has." Yoda explained to them. "Many wars, more vicious they turn, more deadlier their weapons become, more life perished, it resulted. Not like any other planet they killed more." Yoda spared the details to the knowledge of Earth's history he knew, now that he had revealed it to the Jedi it would be only a matter of time that this will be knowledge to the intergalactic community.

"But Master Yoda, what about the planet Elementia?" Anakin asked. Yoda seemed to stiffen up at this, as if remembering a terrible memory. Slowly, he raised his hand at the holocron, and it glowed again. This time, instead of a miniature sun, a large hologram popped out of the holocron, almost as if they were watching the Holonet.

* * *

_Explosions shook the earth as an unholy screech filled the air. Soldiers wearing Mandalorian armor flew away from the explosions as they fired at something in the distance._

_Two men stood side to side as they panted, their white, traditional looking attire dirtied from battle. They looked like they were human, save for their abnormally pale skin, and their equally abnormal horns and eyes. One of them had strange, purple eyes, with rippling black lines in them, with a third, red eye in the center of his forehead, just above where his eyebrows should've been._

_His brother, who looked a little younger due to the lack of wrinkles in his face, looked very identical to his twin, save for his eyes. Instead of the same third eye and the same two purple ones, his were milky eye. Despite this, even the younglings knew that he was not blind, and that he was perfectly capable of seeing the destruction around them._

_"Brother," The milky-eyed one looked around at the destruction. Villages, mountains, forests, they were all destroyed in their battle between some terrible enemy. "I grow weary of this battle, and every day, I grow less confident that we can win."_

_"Faith in ourselves, we must have." A very young looking Yoda ran up to them from behind, his green lightsaber ignited. "Leave this planet, that woman must not."_

_Behind Yoda was what looked to be soldiers in white armor, as well as various other Jedi. Many were tending to their wounded, or comforting the dying, uttering prayers and other words of comfort._

_CRUNCH._

_Yoda turned around, and saw a Mandalorian fly down to greet the Jedi. Covered head to toe in Beskar armor, Yoda could feel the red and black armor's pride and history from where he stood._

_"I see that you haven't lost hope yet." The man grinned from under his helmet. Behind him, more Mandalorians in similarly colored armor landed near him, all armed with blasters, rockets, and various other weapons._

_"You know, it's funny." A man wearing a dark robe stepped up to the group, wiping away remnants of what looked like white flesh. "I never would've imagined that we'd find ourselves on this crossroad to our shared goal of defeating this madwoman, Jedi."_

_It was Darth Revan. Even from the holocron, everyone could feel his strong affinity to the Dark Side._

_The sound of more igniting lightsabers erupted from behind him, and everyone realized that behind the Master of the dark side was more Sith. However, this time, they weren't here to destroy the Jedi. No, they were there to aid them in this shared quest to stop whomever this "madwoman" was._

_"Agree with you, I do." Yoda said, sounding quite weary as he stared at the giant dust cloud miles away from them - or rather, the behemoth that was coming out of it._

_The younglings, knights, and masters gasped in unison as they saw the giant beast step out of the cloud of dust._

_This monster was LARGE. Larger than any ship they could imagine. No, this monster was easily the size of 10 ships combined. It's singular, red eye glowed in the dark night, glaring at the opposing army that dared to stand in its way. It's large, sharp teeth looked like the size of a small cruiser, and looked sharp enough to shred one to pieces. It's titanic, spiky head eclipsed the moon, which, much to the horror of the audience, looked quite shattered. Sprouting from its back resembled a large conch shell with many deadly spikes. To finish off its looming, powerful look, ten large tails that stretched for miles waved mockingly at them from behind its back, looking like it could decimate mountains with a single, lazy swing._

_Emerged from the monster's head was a pale woman, who looked awfully like the two brothers. She had long, sweeping white hair that almost matched her skin, with two horns that protruded from her skull, giving her a rabbit-like look. Her two, milky eyes, which glared at her opponents, greatly resembled the ones belonging to one of the brother, but unlike that brother, she had a third eye that greatly resembled the other brother's third one. Much like her sons, she wore a high-collared kimono, with tomoes running down the center and the edges of her gown, finished off with intricate gold and purple lines._

_"So that's Kaguya Ōtsutsuki." Raven said, watching the woman who was in control of the Ten-Tailed beast. "So she consumed the so-called 'Chakra fruit' that was touched by the Force…and now she wishes to leave this planet."_

_"Happen, we cannot allow." Yoda stated, giving a rather dark glare at the woman._

_"I couldn't agree more." The leader of Mandalore growled as he pulled out what looked to be a lightsaber hilt. Activating the weapon, it made a high-pitched sound as the flat, black plasma blade ignited. This was the Darksaber, a prideful weapon created by the current Mand'alor, which was also the leader of this clan._

_He turned to his warriors, raising his blade in the air. "For Mandalore!" He activated his jetpack as he flew into battle, with all of his followers charging as well with a roar, attacking the beast from the air._

_By his command, Mandalorian, Republic, and Sith ships flew in, firing at the strange, plant like men on the ground, as well as the behemoth itself._

_"Mandalorians..." Raven ignited his red lightsaber with a chuckle. "No wonder Kato's clan is one of the fiercest and most respected clans of the galaxy."_

_"Strong he is, no doubt. Reckless he is as well." Yoda smirked._

_"Enough talk, we must end this before she's gained enough power to execute that insane plan of hers." Revan said, before turning to his followers. "Charge!"_

_A roar of determination sent a shockwave of the dark side through the battlefield, sending a boost of morale amongst the allies as the sith lords and apprentices charges against the monster and the plant-like minions._

_Revan turned to the small Jedi and nodded, before sprinting towards the beast as well, leaving Yoda with the other remaining Jedi and soldiers, who were still good to fight._

_"Commander." One of the Republic troopers with his helmet on walked up to the Jedi. "Are we going in?"_

_"Go now, we shall. Fight, we must."_

_"You heard him, men!" The Republic trooper turned to his men. "For the Republic!" He took charge as hundreds of remaining soldiers went on the attack as several other Jedi Masters and Knights followed them._

_The Mandalorians, who were still flying in the air, fired their rockets at the beast's head, while also taking care to avoid the tails that was trying to swat them out of the sky. The unlucky ones were sent flying painfully into the dirt, while the luckier ones lived to fight for a few more minutes. The beast, meanwhile, had to protect its head, else its master would be blown to bits._

_BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_

_The ten-tailed beast roared in pain and anger as its hands, which was protecting the rabbit-goddess, was burnt and blown to bits. Hissing, it began to cover itself with its tails as an effort to protect Kaguya._

_Unfazed, the leader of the Mandos landed on one of the tails, slashing it with his Darksaber. Roaring, it moved to crush the pest that dared to stand on its tail._

_"Absorb this." The leader said, shoving a thermal detonator into the wound, before dropping himself, flying away from the tails as it exploded, successfully severing a part of the tail while critically damaging another._

_Meanwhile on the ground, the sith jumped upwards onto the beast's arms and using the force to boost his movement and anchor himself to the beast's skin, he ran on the Tailed Beast's body before jumping on its back, plunging their blades into the Ten-Tailed beast, hoping to bring damage to it._

_It, however, only served to piss it off, slamming its fists to the ground, causing a small earthquake and making some of those Siths fall off the back of the beast or retreat from it. Some of those who fell down met their demise when the monster slammed his fist into a group of them. It tried to slam another group of Siths, but got the full power of electrocution against its head._

_That came from Revan, who unleashed a wave of Force Lightning from his hand, shocking the beast and Kaguya with enough power to stun them both for the moment._

_The beast quickly recovered from that shock, but those few seconds was all the allies needed, with the giant monstrosity taking a full blast of a few rockets into its face, one nearly hitting its eye._

_That came from the Republic troops, who were firing everything they've got onto the monster, hoping it would take them down while the remaining Jedi used the force to try and levitate the wounded Mandalorians and even the Sith to safety and away from the beast._

_It was clear though, that even with the bravery and cooperation of the three different groups, their numbers were dropping fast. They already lost a great of numbers of their own, and they were about to lose a lot more unless an effective action was taken against the beast._

_Realizing this, Yoda ran up to where the two brothers Hagoromo and Hamura had landed after a rather nasty swipe from one of the creature's tails._

_"Hagoromo, Hamura."_

_The two brothers turned around and saw the tiny Jedi Knight._

_"Yoda-san, it's good to see you alive." Hamura smiled._

_"With luck, I survived. Many did not, my master included." Yoda stated with sorrow. "Defeat this beast, how do we?"_

_"I am terribly sorry for your loss, Yoda-san." Hagoromo lowered his head in shame and respect. His moment of silence quickly ended as he turned back to his mother, who had just shot down a Republic ship, sending it crashing into a Sith's battleship. "There may be only one way to defeat our mother and end her reign of terror, and that would be by sealing her away. There is, however, an unfortunate catch."_

_"What is it?"_

_"Someone needs to knock her off her trance and distract her long enough for us to get close to her." Hamura said with a scoff "Only problem is that even if someone got close to her, she'll show no mercy and strike you down with her Byakugan and hit all your fatal points."_

_"We will both have to make physical contact with our mother in order to place our seal upon her. However, anybody who gets too close to her will undoubtedly be slain, so she'll have to be sufficiently distracted or stunned for us to make our move."_

_A nearby wounded Jedi overheard this, and asked, "By that you mean-"_

_"Whoever serves as the distraction will most likely never make it back alive." Hagoromo stated grimly. A dark silence then filled the air, save for the sounds of battle and the roars of the demonic creature._

_Just then, two Mandalorians landed behind them, with one of them being wounded and the other helping the other to their feet._

_"And will save the galaxy from grave danger…" The wounded Mandalorian warrior grunted, before slowly standing up by himself. "I'll do it."_

_He tried to stand on his own feet, but his injured leg couldn't support its owner, causing him to stumble. "I'll distract her."_

_"No you won't, Wren."_

_The two Mandalorians turned around to see their great leader land and walk up to them. "If someone's going to distract that woman, it'll be me." The wielder of the Darksaber pointed his thumb to himself._

_"A-are you sure about this?" Hagoromo asked, not sure whether to be impressed or concerned for his choice._

_"Very." Kato said grimly, staring at the wounded and the fallen. "I brought my people here to fight. I am their leader, and therefore, every victory, every loss, and every death falls on my hands. As leader of Mandalore, it is my duty to lead the way."_

_"No, Kato!" The wounded Mandalorian named Wren protested. "I won't let you die. Let me do it!"_

_"It is alright, brother." Kato placed his hand on the warrior's shoulder. "I know what I am doing, and I know the risk. However, if it means that I can give those two a chance to stop their mother's reign of terror, then so be it. Besides, you cannot sacrifice yourself. Your wife will be having your child soon."_

_"She can take care-"_

_"And leave the baby without a father?" Kato asked his friend, getting no answer in response. "Your child needs to be raised by a father who will give him love. Give them the experience you didn't have."_

_The leader of Clan Wren's hands clenched into fists as he looked down. Whether it was in reluctant acceptance or shame, he will never know._

_Kato then turned to the other clan leader. "Kryze, I trust that you'll look after Mandalore in my place, should something happen to my clan."_

_"Of course, sir." Kryze nodded, promising his brother in arms, who he had fought alongside with in so many battles against Mandalore's enemies._

_"Good." The leader of Mandalore smiled, before taking a deep breath. He turned towards Kaguya, who had just shot down a Mandalorian warrior, before activating his jetpack._

_"Remember," He turned to face his people one last time. "This is the way."_

_Then he flew off, determined to fight one last battle._

_"Farewell, brother." The leaders of Clan Wren and Kryze said, words that'll never reach their leader._

_Like a shooting star in the sky, everyone stopped to gaze in wonder as a single man, a single warrior, charged bravely at the goddess. Like any others, Yoda watched as Kato set his jetpack to maximum speed, flying directly towards the body of the Ten-Tails._

_"Well, what are you waiting for?!" The leader of Clan Wren finally barked out. "Are you just gonna let him do all the work? Concentrate all fire on the abomination!"_

_Snapped out of their stupor, everyone roared in detemation as they doubled their efforts to stop the woman, this time, however, with the goal to defend the leader of Mandalore._

_Kaguya, who was previously stunned at the man's bravery, immediately began to try to swat him out of the sky, only to be bombarded on all sides by blaster-fire, plasma cannons, and lightsabers as everyone gave it their all to give Kato an opening._

_Kaguya, who had a stoic face all this time, was now in shock, throwing everything she had at the flying warrior in front of her._

_"Fool. You shall not end me!" Kaguya roared as the veins around her eyes bulged out. "EIGHTY GODS VACUUM ATTACK!" She summoned a barrage of fists at the Mandalorian to try to take down this annoying pest._

_Much to her shock, the Mandalorian, who was very skilled with a jetpack, effortlessly dodged her attacks, and was still growing much closer to her second by second. Taking out his darksaber, he ignited it, the high-pitched noise making her eyes widened even further._

_"Open wide!" He roared as he fired his flamethrower from his wrist, forcing her to block her face with her arms. He then slashed downwards at the woman._

_CRUNCH!_

_The small sound, which was somehow heard from across the raging battlefield, was enough to stop everyone in their tracks. When the smoke and fire cleared out, it showed Kato...with an arm pierced through his chest._

_Kaguya, who had a triumphant smirk on her face despite the massive burns she just suffered from, had her arm through the Mandalorian's chest, piercing through his armor and his organs._

_Coughing out blood, Kato dropped his Darksaber, the weapon deactivating as it fell out of his reach. Seeing this just widened Kaguya's impossibly wide grin even further._

_"Your bravery is noted." Kaguya leaned in close to his helmet, which never attempted to look away from her. "However, did you really think a mere mortal like you can ever kill me?"_

_"Maybe not." The warrior coughed from under his helmet. "That's why that wasn't part of the plan."_

_The woman looked confused at this, until he pulled out a metal cylinder. Lifting his thumb off of the button, he tossed it upwards into her face._

_BANG!_

_The explosion was loud, ear piercing, and blinding. The flash bang did its work as Kaguya howled in pain as all three of her eyes shut tight. Flinging the Mandalorian off of her arm, she covered her ears as she shrieked, curling up into a ball in agony._

_"Now brother!"_

_The woman opened her eyes when she felt two persons by her sides. It was obvious that while she was still blinded, she knew exactly who the two people were, and weakly lifted her arms to try to stop them, but it was too late. The two sons planted their palms at her sides, a grim look on their face._

_"SIX PATHS - CHIBAKU TENSEI!"_

_The minute the two brothers shouted those words, the Ten-Tailed beast was suddenly disconnected from her. Their mother's eyes widened in shock, fury, and then sadness as she began to float upwards._

_Suddenly, the earth began to rise up from down below towards her. Rocks and large chunks of the earth flew up as they surrounded the woman, imprisoning her in the large sphere._

_It was as if a 100 Jedi was using the Force to entomb the rabbit-goddess with the earth, creating a new moon._

_Everyone, from the Sith, the Jedi, and the Mandalorians, all stared at the new moon being created to replace the broken one in the sky. After what seemed like forever, they all began to cheer._

_The battle was over. The galaxy was safe-for now._

* * *

The recording ended, leaving everybody in the room astonished with what they had just witnessed as the young days of Grand Master Yoda when he was a Jedi knight. Many of the younger members of the Order began to murmur:

"Wow…"

"That monster...it felt just like-"

"Yeah, can't get those shivers from my back."

The Jedi Masters like Windu, Shaak Ti and Rancisis were wondering why the wisest member of the Jedi Order held such a shocking fact of history.

"Many Jedi, gone with the Force, they had that day." Yoda grimaced, not trying to think about the slaughter. "Padawans, Knights, Masters. All died, with few survived." He thought also of those troops, Mandalorians, and even a few of the Sith who were willing to help. "Many brave men and women, gone they now are. Hurts me, it still does."

Everyone could feel the pain coming from the eldest master, with many wishing to comfort him for his loss.

"What all of you felt, 'The Ripple', as you call it, is quite different than the Dark Side. Important to understand it, it is. Find it first, we must, else the creature may fall into the wrong hands."

"Hold on, Master." Anakin suddenly interrupted, causing a few of the younglings to gasp at his audacity. "You said that the Sith will be looking for it. Yet, you fought alongside some Sith Lords to fight it. Why would it be any different now?"

This made all of the Jedi to fall into a sea of murmurs again, loudly discussing Anakin's point.

Windu didn't look too pleased at Anakin's question.

"Skywalker…"

"Enough, Master Windu." Yoda said, calming the hardened Jedi Master down as he turned to the young Skywalker. "Reason for my concern, young Skywalker, is because the old Sith, Revan, Talon, and Bane, knew of the risks the Ten-Tailed possessed, they did, as well as its master, Kaguya. The new Sith, however, care not, or know not, of the risks involved."

"But why was Bane there? He died like three thousand years ago!" Anakin pointed out, knowing for a fact that Darth Bane was in the times of the Old Republic, long before Yoda was even born.

"Some things in the Force, even I yet to discover, I have." Yoda answered to him, gaining more confused reactions from the Jedi.

Obi Wan, who was beginning to understand the gravity of the situation, looked at the space between the Omega Sector and the Coruscant Sector.

"So you say this map leads us towards that ripple we just felt?"

"Yes." Yoda nodded grimly. "This map I held, for six hundred years I have."

Yoda waved his hand again, and the map shrank back into the holocron.

"Danger to the galaxy, there will be, should that woman ever return."

The idea of that creature storming towards the Jedi Temple made many in the room shiver in fear.

"What do you suggest we do with this, Master?"

"Bring this to the Senate, we must." Yoda said, stunning everyone in the room by his proposition. "Contact this planet, we must."

"But Master," Shaak Ti, who had been mostly silent up to this point, couldn't help but ask, "Why would you want to reveal the location to the public? Wouldn't this only double the risk of the Sith trying to get their hands on this beast?"

"Because, it split into nine, it has."

'Split into nine?' Everyone in the room thought. 'What does he mean by this?'

"After the creature's defeat, split the energy of the beast, Hagoromo did. Nine creatures, he created. All of them, own power and will, they have. The weakest having one tail, nine with the strongest."

"What creatures are we talking about?" Plo Koon asked. In response, Yoda waved his hand at the holocron again, and it was replaced with a simple image. The first image shown was a picture of a one-tailed tan colored animal, with dark blue markings all over its body.

"The first is the one-tailed racoon-dog, so I was told. Manipulate sand, it can. Shukaku, his name is."

"A sand creature." Obi Wan glanced at Anakin. "Well Anakin, if we need to fight it, perhaps your expertise can be useful for this one." This gained some laughs from some of the Jedi in response to his joke.

Anakin simply grunted in return, looking away with a slight look of irritation.

Yoda (with a slight grin on his face from the banter) waved his hand in a swiping motion, and the image shifted to the two-tailed beast. This one was radically darker than the one-tailed beast, with its fiery "fur" being dark blue and black in color. Its eyes were heterochromatic, with the right being yellow and the left being green.

This particular one caught the fascination of some of the younger Jedi, with some even finding it pretty.

"Her name, Matatabi, it is." Yoda said, gaining some cheerful comments from the female younglings.

"It's a her!"

"She's pretty!" They squealed, before getting hushed by the nearest Jedi Master.

Yoda couldn't help but chuckle. "Pretty she looks, yes. But do not be deceived, younglings. Ability to use fire, she has. Deadly, her claws are."

This got some of the girls to giggle as they looked at their male classmates, who often teased them about their "obsession" over their nails.

The next picture was that of a creature that looked a lot less pretty, but looked to be much more durable in battle. It looked to be an aquatic, three-tailed creature, as evident by its crustacean-like shell, and unlike its two-tailed sister, it looked much more fearsome with its rough, spiky shell and its glowing red eye.

"This is Isobu, the beast of the sea. Grumpy, it looks, but very kind, it actually is. Deep in the seas, it usually resides."

"Certainly not a creature to mess with, especially in the waters. Wouldn't you agree, Master Fisto?" Plo Koon asked to his Nautolan friend, Kit Fisto.

"Sure looks like a rough one alright." The other Jedi Master agreed. "I'm pretty sure even our lightsabers would have trouble with that kind of shell."

The image of the four-tailed beast then came up. This primate-looking creature had bright red fur, with elongated fangs protruding from its mouth and two long horns curving upwards like a crown. With its yellow eyes, which uncomfortably reminded some of the Sith, this one also looked to be a ferocious creature to meet in battle.

"A prideful creature, this one is." Yoda explained. "Son Gokū, it likes to be called."

"That's one big angry looking creature." Shaak Ti pointed out, looking at the expression of the Four-Tailed Monkey.

Yoda nodded, before moving on to the next image. This image showed the Five-Tailed beast, whose peculiar appearance made it difficult to decipher what animal it was based off of, with the only obvious details being its mostly white skin, five tails, four legs, and its long horns.

"Kokuō, his name is. Mixture of a horse and dolphin, told me he was."

"Dolphin and horse?" Anakin asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are those animals from the Omega Sector?"

"Let's just move on, please, Master." Obi Wan asked. The image quickly shifted to another hologram that showed a white, slimy, dripping blob monster that made some of the younglings cringe in disgust."

"EEEEWWW!" Some of them cried out.

"Saiken, this one is called." Yoda pointed out. "Six Tails, he is. Slug, his animal is. Gas and liquid attacks, his speciality is."

"I don't want to imagine what you're meaning by that." Piell crossed his arms, thinking about this particular tailed-beast. While it's true that this one didn't look like much-hell, it looks like a couple of lazy blaster shots would easily take out this thing-the idea of it using gas and liquids for its attacks made it seem more dangerous than its appearance suggests.

The next image was very underwhelming, to say the least, with the hologram showing what appeared to be a seven-tailed tiny beetle. Looking harmless and quite cute (to some), it looked like it posed less of a threat than the six-tailed slug.

"Chōmei, his name is. Cheerful, this one is."

"He doesn't look too bad." Anakin commented, to which Yoda shook his head.

"Many years ago, this was, when they were born. How much they have changed, is the question." Yoda said sagely.

"Gyūki, next is." Yoda resumed as he turned to the next hologram. This one looked to be a mix of an octopus and a sheep, with large eight-tails behind its back. Oddly enough, it's most notable feature was its pure, white eyes, with no irises whatsoever.

"Another aquatic beast, this one is. One of the strongest of the group, he is."

Rancisis, wishing to wrap this up, asked, "And whatsss the last Tailed Beast?"

Yoda nodded, before turning to the last image. The last one showed a picture of what was arguably the cutest one of them all. Sitting on the ground was the picture of what appeared to be an orange, baby fox with nine tails.

"AWWW!" Many of the younglings cried out.

Yoda couldn't help but smile at this.

"The Nine-Tailed Fox, this is." Yoda explained. "Kurama, his name is. Most powerful, it may be."

Yoda's face then turned grim, and everyone knew that bad news was coming.

"The 'Ripple', as you call it, came from Kurama." Yoda closed his eyes in distress. "Anger, I felt, coming from this old friend. Changed, my friend did. What has happened, is the question."

While the rest of the Jedi were still trying to cope with the fact that giant beasts of the Force were present on an undisclosed planet, Windu, Rancisis, Piell, and Obi Wan looked to one another and to the other Council members. It didn't take a genius to figure out just why Yoda kept this all a secret to everyone.

"No doubt that the Sith have felt it." Yoda stated. "Doom will arrive, if the Sith controls the beasts. Prevent this at all costs, we must."

The Grand Master then turned to the other Jedi present in the room. "Inform this to the public, we cannot do. Cause panic, it will. Work in discrete, we must. Protect the galaxy from grave danger, we must."

It was then that everyone, even the younglings, knew of the grave danger this rogue element can cause. They knew that this was no laughing matter, and that they must take this secret to the grave, if they must. It was unnecessary to say that this information could never leave the temple, save for the senate.

Windu was the first to speak after the thoughtful silence. "So you wish to bring this information about this sector and its dangerous history to the senate. That way we can have clearance to travel to this sector in hopes that they'll join the Republic, especially before the Separatists get to them first."

"Accurate, your statement is, Master Windu." Yoda nodded, closing the holocron as he pocketed the box. "Need to bring this to the senate now, we must. Master Windu and I shall debrief this to the Chancellor."

"For now, everyone needs to keep this information to yourself." Windu instructed everyone. "All who have not been informed yet will be informed, but again, I cannot stress just how dangerous this information can be if leaked to the public. That will be all."

At their dismissal, everyone in the room began to return to their activities before they felt The Ripple, leaving the Jedi Masters alone to think about how they will explain to the Senate about this news.

Yoda, however, was thinking about something much different.

Yoda was thinking about his time with the two brothers and the war against Kaguya, as well as their goodbyes as he had to leave. He remembered Hagoromo's last moments, and how he created the tailed beasts. He remembered their brief, yet joyous introduction, and how they were fascinated by the ships, as if they weren't a miracle of the force by themselves.

'Such innocence, those beasts had.' Yoda mused sadly. He then reflected on The Ripple, and even though it has been forever since he has first and last met the Nine-Tailed Fox, he could never forget their signatures in the force.

'Kurama...what has happened while I was gone? Were you trying to me something?'

* * *

**[Elementia; Konoha Hospital (A Week Later)]**

Tsunade took another swig from her saké bottle, letting out an audible sigh. Shizune, her loyal apprentice, was not too far behind her as they walked down the hospital hallway.

The staff members, both civilian and shinobi alike, saluted her as she walked by, but she barely acknowledged them, too busy worrying about a particular patient of hers.

It had not been a good week for the 5th Hokage, although to be fair, it hadn't been a good week for anyone in Konoha, especially not for the Shinobi teams involved with the latest incident.

It had been a week since Sasuke Uchiha had tried to defect to Orochimaru, with the help of his goons, The Sound Four. Initially, it was thought that he was kidnapped, and a team was set up by his former classmates to go and rescue him, but the mission quickly evolved into a retrieval one when it was discovered that Sasuke went with them willingly.

The Sound Four weren't Orochimaru's elites for nothing, as the Konoha team learned the hard way. That's why Tsunade called in the help of the Sand Village as reinforcements, which they were more than happy to accept, as an effort to help make up for the invasion that they participating in against them not too long ago.

Gaara and his siblings Temari and Kankuro were the only ones the Sand Village sent, but they proved to be enough, quickly helping out the injured Konoha teens.

However, even with the help of the Sand Village, the mission, while a success, still turned out to be rather disastrous.

"Shizune, status report."

"Oh! Um," Shizune grabbed a folder from her hands, and began reading off of it. "We've been monitoring their health for a good seven days, and we're clear to say that most of them are going for a good and steady recovery. Choji Akamichi has been out of critical condition after day two. Neji Hyuuga is already showing signs of progress, as he just woke up yesterday. Shikamaru Nara and Kiba Inuzuka were already discharged from the hospital, which just leaves us with the two remaining patients."

"What's his status?" Tsunade asked a little too quickly.

"Right." Shizune began reading it off. "After an operation going well, Sasuke Uchiha is-"

"I don't give a damn about him!" Tsunade snapped, making Shizune flinch in fear.

Tsunade stopped, and took a deep breathe. "I mean, how is his condition?"

Shizune knew exactly who she was talking about. "Oh, Naruto's…" She had a grim look, and sighed. "Still no change from his current status."

Tsunade stopped abruptly, and for a second, she thought that Tsunade was about to have another outburst, until she realized that they had made it to their destination.

Their destination was located in a special section of the hospital. This particular room was reserved for VIP patients, such as ones like the Hokage, or in this case, the village's jinchuriki.

Getting past the guards, who regarded the hokage with a respectful nod, they opened the door, and found a grim sight. A singular bed was in the room, with the unfortunate patient being surrounded by lots of machinery. The machines monitored the patient's blood levels, breathing patterns, and his heart beats. The said patient was covered in bandages, with tubes stuck into his throat for food, water, and air.

That patient was Naruto Uzumaki, the boy who would normally hop out of bed in the morning with a happy grin on his whiskered face. Naruto Uzumaki, who was full of energy and determination just a week ago, was now breathing through a mask tube, with his face covered in serious burns and bruises, which was thankfully covered in bandages.

Despite them being trained shinobi, despite them being experienced medics, it still broke their heart to see their little troublemaker in this critical state.

"He's still recovering from his wounds." Shizune began to explain. "Even with the Kyuubi healing him, his lungs are still in critical condition, due to the two Chidori attacks Sasuke inflicted on him."

The dark look on Tsunade's face almost discouraged her from continuing, but the hokage gave her a nod to continue.

"Upon arrival, we immediately operated on him for almost nine hours, compared to Sasuke's surgery, which only took three. He flatlined twice, but we were able to bring him back quickly, thank kami. But that's not the concerning part."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at that.

"Naruto almost died twice so far, and that's not the concerning part?"

Shizune cleared her throat.

"Correction, that's the second most concerning part, aside from that. Anyways, what's concerning us is that according to our calculations, Naruto should've woken up by now. The problem is that he's still in a coma, which he shouldn't have been in in the first place."

"...Explain."

"Well, we know that it wasn't our drugs that did it. Believe me when I say that we thought about putting him into a medically induced coma, but we made good progress on him by the time that thought crossed our minds, and not to mention his incredible healing factor did 25% of the work for us, so we aborted that idea. We also know that it wasn't the Kyuubi's chakra either, since we scanned his brain cells for any chakra contamination."

"So what did cause his coma?" Tsunade asked, now more concerned than angry.

"Well, the thing is that we're not entirely sure. But, we suspect that it could be extreme mental fatigue - which, I suppose makes sense, due to everything he just went through."

"Mental fatigue? That's new."

"Like I said," Shizune scratched her head, obviously still baffled by their "explanation." "Not entirely sure. It's just a theory we're going by."

"When will he wake up?" Tsunade asked, not sure if she'll get a definite answer.

"Well, we believe that he should be awake within another week or so." Shizune said with a small smile. "Again, just going off of calculations, but you know Naruto. He'll surprise us the next day or something by getting up early in the morning!"

"That's good to know." Tsunade gave her a small smile, which felt like a victory for Shizune. That moment of smiles was abruptly ended when Tsunade asked her for Sasuke's condition.

"Well, he's certainly responsive and awake by now." Shizune said gingerly, knowing that just talking about the Uchiha could be enough to set her off. "He's been eating lately and been trying to walk, but aside from that, he's still avoiding any social interactions, and has been uncooperative so far with basic conversations."

"Sounds like him alright." Tsunade scoffed while staring at Naruto with a frown. "He's lucky the only thing I've done to him was have Kakashi seal off his chakra for his actions."

"Still, there are people asking for what happened precisely at the Valley of the End." Shizune mentioned. "People are wondering what could've happened to Naruto back there that caused him to fall into a coma, since Sasuke isn't speaking to anyone about it."

"Did he receive any visits? Letters?"

Shizune nodded with a smile. "Kakashi and Sakura makes it a habit to stop by at times, and recently, the other members of the Retrieval team are beginning to visit him as well. Shikamaru and Kiba have already visited him a few times, and so did their teams and masters. But that Hyuuga girl - Hinata, I think that's her name, - has especially been visiting everyday. We even got a get-well letter from the Sand Village support team. Then there's the Ichiraku family and his former instructor Iruka."

It warmed Tsunade's heart to see that there were many people who cared about the young boy's condition. It didn't help that she was one of the many people that was secretly hoping that he and that Hinata girl would get together, and would finally forget about the pink-haired girl. Her eyes then fell onto the necklace around Naruto's neck, and flinched, wondering if his condition was a sign of bad luck or a sign of good luck.

"Let's leave the gaki to rest. If he wakes up, I'll personally give him a bowl of ramen."

Shizune couldn't help but smile. "I think he'll like that, my lady."

Both women eventually turned to leave, leaving the boy alone to rest. With the lights left on, the only sound present in the room was the monitors and the beeps, proof that the young boy was still alive.

* * *

**[Space - Approaching Elementia]**

Unbeknownst to the Elemental Nations, the planet of Elementia was finally going to have visitors from outer space for the first time since many years ago.

A large, Consular-class Cruiser suddenly shot out of hyperspace, the large ship slowly approaching the blue and green planet below the spacecraft.

"We've reached our coordinates, sir." The pilot of the Republic Navy said to the head of security of this delegation, Gregar Typho, a captain of the Royal Naboo Security Forces and bodyguard of senator Amidala.

He was now responsible for the security of the diplomatic mission to this new world that was supposed to be filled with different nations-states.

"Okay, be ready to enter the surface. We're going to land." Typho ordered as the Jedi plus the Senators walked in the bridge.

"We're here." Anakin noted, staring at the beautiful planet up ahead.

"It reminds me of Naboo." Senator Padme Amidalla couldn't help but admire the planet, which had just the right amount of blue and green from outer space.

"Abundant in nature, the planet is." Yoda agreed. "Still is, glad to know."

"Well, let's just hope that the natives are friendly." C-3P0, Anakin's protocol droid, commented nervously. "From what I've heard from Master Yoda, the odds of them reacting negatively to our arrival are 80% to-"

"Relax, C-3P0." Anakin interrupted him. "It's not like we've come completely unprepared. Worst case scenario, we'll have to shoot and cut our way out of a fight if we have to. The venator will stay above us to reinforce our escape if we have to."

"I hope I don't have to remind you that this is a diplomatic mission." Obi Wan said, stroking his beard. "So please allow the Senator to do the talking."

"Yeah, yeah." Anakin waved him off, much to his annoyance.

Despite the light hearted banter, everyone, the Jedi included, were pretty tense. Unlike many other worlds out there, this one was a complete anomaly. If the other citizens of this planet had the same or similar powers to the Sage Hagoromo…

Then the potential war between them could end up in a bloodbath for both sides.


	2. After all these Years

AN from Lucius: About the Timeline, and Darker Story Tone.

The timeline won't be accurate, which should be obvious, due to Sabine being part of the story. While yes, we will attempt to not jumble up the timelines too much, we'll have to mix up a few things here and there.

I hope that answer's everyone's questions. That being said, this story will be significantly darker, and will have trigger warnings at times.

Anyways, enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

* * *

**[The Prison of the Nine-Tails]**

Officially known to a select few, inside of the boy named Naruto Uzumaki was a tailed beast. To be more exact, the Nine-Tailed Fox, aka "The Kyuubi", the same tailed beast that had attacked Konoha only a few years ago, was sealed inside of Naruto.

The Kyuubi, a creature made of chakra, whose size easily rivaled mountains, whose power can shatter the earth with a single cleave from its tail, was locked into the body and soul of a child. Locked behind the inescapable cage, the tailed beast could do nothing but sleep and observe the world through the boy's eyes. All because of the damned, late Fourth Hokage, who was known to many as "The Yellow Flash."

Since most of what its prison warden does was boring beyond comprehension, all the beast did was sleep for the most part. Right now, however, it was wide awake. That was because just a week ago, the blond brat had another interesting fight, where he needed his power to help him win. What was even more entertaining was the fact that he was fighting an Uchiha, or to be more exact, the last of its kind.

The Demon Fox smirked, reminiscing about the memory of the fight. Sure, he hated the annoying Uzumaki brat to hell, but he hated the Uchihas even more, and he took utmost pleasure in watching him beat the crap out of him, even if he didn't exactly walk away unscathed. Sure, the Uchiha brat wasn't killed, as he secretly hoped for, but he was still dragged back to the village in humiliation, and was no doubt going to be branded a traitor.

The Kyuubi frowned when his thoughts trailed from the defeated Uchiha to the Uzumaki brat that was containing him. He had to work extra hard to keep his ass alive, due to the two gaping holes in his chest. The worst part was that after his generous decision to keep the boy alive, he wasn't going to be thanked for it, which felt like another spit to the face he couldn't retaliate against.

Now he knew that the kid might be staying in this coma for another week or two, he found no reason to stay awake and just take another deep nap into his slumber.

But that wasn't what was occupying the fox's mind. No, it was the strange power that Naruto had just used moments before Sasuke Uchiha had been defeated.

It was...dark. Dark, potent, and powerful, it wasn't something that he had felt since...the day he was born. It was a power that was similar to theirs, and yet, it wasn't a power that they could use themselves.

Oddly enough, it gave him a sense of nostalgia that he knew was something he could never understand, given how he could remember everything from birth.

Before Kurama could think on it some more, something else caught his scent. He blinked, and he realized that something - or someone - had just entered this planet.

His eyes widened as he realized that he had felt and smelt this presence before. This scent, this aura, this power...he had felt it before. It was when they were born. It was when they saw the strange men retreat into the Heavens, sailing beyond the stars in their metal ships, with powers that rivaled theirs.

Kurama sensed a rainbow of auras, some darker than others, and some much brighter than the others. But only one of them stood out in particular. Yes, this aura...it was the one that he had met before.

**"Yoda...my old friend. Have you returned after all these years?"**

* * *

**[Konoha - Konoha Hospital]**

Jiraiya let out a sigh for what seemed like the millionth time that day. The old Toad Sage was sitting by Naruto's bed alongside another visitor, who was not human.

Small, old, and green, it was the eldest summoning toad, who was wearing a brown cape, had gray hair, and had noticeably thick eyebrows, which was also gray from old age. The old toad might not look like much, but he was the one that taught Jiraiya in his younger days as a Shinobi, which is why even Jiraiya held much respect for the old animal.

His name was Fukasaku, a resident of Mount Myōboku, as well as being one of their strongest warriors. Usually isolating himself from the human world, it certainly came as a surprise for Jiraiya when he actually came to visit him and the boy.

"So this is your new apprentice, eh, Jiraiya-boy?" The elderly green toad asked as he stared at the comatose blond on the bed. "He sure took quite a beating from that Uchiha kid you told me about."

"Yeah, I know." Jiraiya said plainly, still staring at Naruto's unresponsive body. According to Tsunade, the boy was possibly near Death's door, due to the damage he had sustained by the hand of the Uchiha traitor. It was only thanks to Shizune personally leading Naruto's surgery that the boy was still breathing - for now.

"You're angry, Jiraiya-boy." Fukasaku noticed the Toad Sage's grim expression. "I can see that."

"I'm a shinobi." Jiraiya sighed. "Death is part of our everyday life. We learn how to take lives, how to prevent others from taking them, and ultimately, how to deal with death, regardless of who it happens to. And yet, even after all these years, it still takes me by surprise when a close one is at the bastard's door. I walked into my village wanting to buy this brat a cup of ramen, only to find out that he nearly died to bring back a traitor, which, for some reason, seems to be more liked than this hero himself." He ended with a frown, angrily pointing to his injured student. It honestly took everything the old pervert had to not walk into the Uchiha's room and finish what Itachi started.

Fukasaku nodded solemnly, understanding the old man's sorrow very well, before turning back to Naruto. "This boy, you sure that he's ready to take his training to the next level when he wakes up?"

"Maybe not." Jiraiya grunted, standing up to walk over to the blond's side. "But ready or not, the minute he recovers from his injuries and wakes up, we'll leave this village to help him train to be ready for the Akatsuki. If my intel is correct, then this will be the right moment to do so."

"So how long do you plan on training this boy anyways?" The old toad asked, staring at the breathing machine that helps keep the boy alive.

"Two years." Jiraiya said with a determined look. "I want to train him non-stop for two years."

Whatever else he was going to say, he held his tongue, seeing the elder toad shake his head.

"Something wrong, Lord Fukasaku?"

"Jiraiya-boy." Fukasaku had a concerned look on his face. "We just found more bad news. There's something wrong with this boy's contract."

"Wait, what?"

"To put it simply...his contract's corroded." Fukasaku said carefully. "We don't know why, but somehow, his connection to us is just...disrupted. It's almost as if something evil just stepped in between our bond and poured acid all over it."

"Wait wait wait." Jiraya waved his hands around before speaking. "You're trying to tell me that Naruto's contract somehow got broken? How's that possible?"

"Not broken." Fukasaku corrected. "Just...corrupted. I don't know. All I know is that he can't summon us, and we can't summon him. The only thing we do know is that our bond can only allow us to know that he's alive, but that's it."

He turned his head back to Naruto's still form.

"Whatever it is, it's related to whatever happened at that valley."

"Come to think of it," Jiraiya snapped his fingers, remembering something that his friend had previously said. "Tsunade mentioned how Naruto somehow suffered from extreme mental fatigue, which may be the reason to why he's in a coma in the first place."

"Strange, but could be related." Fukasaku scratched his chin in thought. "Did the Uchiha boy say anything that'll help us solve this mystery?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Damn kid hasn't said a word ever since he got back here and got his chakra sealed off."

"He's the only one who might know what could've happened in that fight that caused Naruto-boy's current condition." Fukusaku pointed out. "It's imperative that we get some answers out of him sooner or later."

Just as Jiraiya was going to say something else, the door burst open, revealing a panting Shizune.

"Outside!" Shizune gasped, trying to take in some air. "Something large! Come quick!"

"What? Another invasion?!" Jiraiya asked, but Shizune just ran back outside. Taking out a kunai, he followed the young woman outside, hoping for an answer.

* * *

**[Konoha Shopping District ; A Few Minutes Earlier]**

Life in the Konoha Shopping District was never a dull one, with civilians and shinobi alike always crowding the district, looking to buy or sell something of value.

Amongst the crowds stood the members of Team 8, Team 10, Team Gai, and Sakura Haruno. With everyone now discharged from the hospital, everyone agreed to visit Naruto at least once a day.

One of them was carrying a get-well basket, which was stuffed with cards and letters and an unopened cup of beef ramen, which was cleverly hidden underneath some delicious looking fruits.

"Hiding that cup of ramen underneath the fruits." Ino smiled at her friend Hinata. "Good thinking. I'm pretty sure Naruto will appreciate it when he wakes up."

Hinata did her best to hide the growing blush on her face with the basket.

"I just thought that when he wakes up, he might want to eat something else than what the hospital offers." She tried not to stutter with some success, which she felt was a victory on her part.

Everyone else couldn't help but smile at Hinata's good nature, as well as her obvious crush on the blond goofball, and for the fact that out of every one of them, she visited his room everyday almost religiously.

"CRUNCH!"

The moment was ruined by the sound of someone chewing on something rather loudly. They all turned to the source of the noise, and deadpanned at the sight of Choji eating his bag of barbecue potato chips.

"Hmm, so tasty…" He moaned in delight.

Ino turned back to her teammate with a tick mark on her forehead.

"Damn it, Choji! The Hokage told you to not eat that crap for another week!"

Chouji pouted at his blonde teammate. "Oh come on, Ino."

"Chouji…"

"Man, what a drag. Let it go, Ino." This time it was Shikamaru spoke, the only member of the group who's a full fledged Chunin, as evident by his jacket. "It's not like we're trying to stop Naruto from eating healthy."

"I do have to agree with the Yamanaka for once." Neji joined the conversation. "I also agree that it might not be the best idea to bring unhealthy food to someone who hasn't even woken up from his coma yet."

"Come on Neji, give them a break." Tenten, the weapon specialist of Team Gai, waved her hands. "You know what Lady Tsunade has told us: He'll wake up the next week or so, so that's no problem. Besides, there's a mini fridge in there so we can just put the ramen cup in there for the time being."

Tenten was one of the many people who didn't pay much attention to the spirited blond, seeing him as just another arrogant teen who had big dreams, but with no skill to back it up. After seeing him beat Neji - NEJI, of all people - in the Chunin Exams, she finally saw the boy for all of his potential, and ever since then, especially after the Retrieval Mission, she had finally decided to stop taking him so lightly, and to start paying more attention to him.

"YOSH!" Lee cried out (which at this point, failed to surprise them anymore). "I have faith that Naruto's Flames of Youth will help him awaken him from his coma sooner or later! If not, I shall run around the village 500 times on my hands!"

This actually got some of them to burst into laughter, with even Neji smirking at his teammate's antics. After the Retrieval Mission, it would seem that they needed this usual dynamic to help keep their spirits up.

Sakura giggled at Lee's declaration.

"You do you, Lee."

This got everyone to laugh and grin even harder at Lee's positivity, with even Lee himself smiling at their reaction.

Well, all except for Kiba, who was unusually silent in his thoughts, which was not unnoticed by his teammate, Shino Aburame.

"You've been awfully quiet, Kiba." Shino mentioned, which shut up the group effectively. "Just speak out your mind if you need to."

"... I still can't believe that bastard Sasuke tried to turn traitor." Kiba finally blurted it out, causing the others to stop and turn around after hearing this. Kiba sucked in some air between his teeth, and seeing as how he finally said what needed to be said, he decided to continue.

"Look, I've been pissed off about some crap some of the civilians are saying." Kiba growled. "They've been spreading some nasty rumors, you know?"

"...Yeah, I hear you." Shikamaru began to unleash his inner thoughts as well. "Pretty messed up how people turn on you…"

While trying to lose himself in his own thoughts, he couldn't help but overhear some very foolish statements coming from some of the villagers, who obviously held unwarranted animosity towards the blond.

Don't get him wrong, he knew exactly why they hated the blond from birth. Shikamaru, who held a very high IQ level, was one of the few people who quickly deduced just why Naruto was so hated. He was also wise and smart enough to not talk about it, else he would be punished under the law of the late Third Hokage. His suspicions were only confirmed after the Chuunin Exam, when Naruto used that chakra in his match against Neji.

Admittedly, it did frighten Shikamaru quite a bit, but if Hinata could still love him, especially for who he was, then he trusted her judgement.

"Some of them," Kiba continued, his teeth grinding from frustration, "have the balls to deny that the bastard was going to defect to the Third Hokage's killer, while Naruto's still breathing through a tube because his lungs were destroyed from that same bastard."

This got many nods of agreement, especially from Neji and Choji, who weren't very happy at the way their critically injured comrade was treated.

The whole story hadn't come out yet, but the people were already beginning to cook up lies and theories, which quickly evolved into spread rumors. The most popular one happened to be where Sasuke was a victim of some sorts, with Naruto somehow being responsible for the "kidnapping."

"I must say, Kiba," Shino began to throw his word in, "this is the first time you've been very outspoken for Naruto, given how you both weren't very good acquaintances."

"Hey, I'll admit that Naruto and I might not be on good terms, but you know what? He convinced me otherwise."

Seeing the stunned reactions from the others, Kiba decided to elaborate.

"Sure, he beat me in the Chunin Exams, sure, he's still a goofball and a loud mouth, but he's someone you can at least trust when shit goes down."

Everyone who was a part of the Retrieval Mission wholeheartedly agreed. When it came down to it, he was capable of being serious, and he was capable of holding his own and helping out out his comrades. Arguably, this was what really earned him their respect, and this is why they finally accepted him as a valuable comrade of Konoha.

Sakura bit her lip. She couldn't bring herself to mention the conversation she remembered having with Sasuke before, on how he talked about why Naruto wasn't truly moping about having no parents, and why he was still being positive after she made a rather insensitive comment about wishing to not have parents. From what she knew, Naruto was the only one who was orphaned at a very young age without even knowing who his parents were.

Similarly, both Tenten and Lee lost their parents on the day of the Kyuubi attack, but Lee was taken under Gai's wing as his mentor - and later on, a father-like figure, - while Tenten was adopted by her godparents.

Then there was Sasuke, who lost his entire family right in front of him by his own brother while they were just in their Academy days. He never did accept anyone's offer to adopt him, choosing to remain alone in the Uchiha Compound, perhaps as a way to remember and honor them while he trained and lived there.

While he never did have another parent-like figure ever again, he was adored by the village, with everyone always smiling at him, trying to cheer him up, and thanking him (and thus, his late-family) for their services as Konoha's ex-police force. Hell, he was also often given special treatment in the Academy, offering special tutoring and such, to which he happily accepted, hoping to quickly grow stronger to avenge his family.

When you looked at the facts, Naruto's life was the polar opposite of Sasuke's, which was funny in a way, considering how both of them turned out.

Shikamaru, out of everyone in the group, knew these facts, and the more he thought about it, the more he was surprised that Naruto didn't just up and leave the village a long time ago. Getting the piss-poor treatment he did up to this day, any sane man or woman would've just given up on the village and would've left in the middle of the night in a very Sasuke-like style.

But Naruto didn't. Instead of leaving much like how Sasuke had done, he had chosen to stay, for one reason or another. Looking back, perhaps the small interactions he and Choji had with the blond helped him stay rooted here. The fact that the Third Hokage and Iruka themselves paid some attention to him, even giving him a home, probably helped him keep treason out of his mind.

Shikamaru then imaged an alternate universe, where much like Gaara, he was treated much worse, with even the Hokage shunning his own citizen. He imaged an alternate universe where even he and Choji bullied him and shunned him from the group. He shuddered when he thought about the Kyuubi attack that happened when he was very young, and wondered if a repeat of that might've happened had Naruto reached his breaking point all those years ago.

His thoughts were interrupted when a large shadow passed over them. Noting how dark it suddenly became, he knew that this was no mere cloud.

"Huh?" Shikamaru and the others looked up, and what they saw caused their eyes to widen and their jaw to drop.

* * *

**[Konoha - Hokage Building]**

"I want all civilians to be evacuated to the shelters." Tsunade was barking orders to various shinobi. "Tell the Genin and Chunin to aid in the evacuation. Meanwhile, I want all Jounin to spread the word to all the Clans all over the village to do the same!"

"Yes ma'am!" All the shinobi flickered away, leaving nothing but dust behind as evidence of their former presence, leaving behind one purple-haired ANBU agent, who was wearing a cat mask.

"You, go back to the hospital. Protect Naruto with your life if you have to."

"Yes, Lady Hokage." The ANBU agent nodded, before flickering away. Just as the ANBU disappeared,Jiraiya opened the door and walked in with Shizune.

"Tsunade." Jiraiya walked up her. "Have you seen what it-"

"Yes, Jiraiya, I have working eyes." She said, turning around to the window, staring through it with her old teammate and her apprentice. What they saw was something that they could have never imagined in a million years.

A large, metal structure was flying directly over the Hidden Leaf, momentarily almost eclipsing the sun with its large, metal body, with its looming shadow cast over the area underneath it..

Years of training and discipline helped keep Jiraiya calm as he began to think about their options, as well as how to decipher the situation.

"What do you think it is, Tsunade?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe it's a scouting party from the Land of Sky?" Jiraiya suggested, sending a shiver of fear down Tsunade's spine.

"I hope not." Tsunade whispered, clenching her fists tightly. She and her surviving friends remembered all too well the terror the Land of the Sky had imposed on the Elemental Nations. She remembered how the Sky shinobi had rained fire from above, and how she lost so many friends as they could do nothing but dodge and hide from their fury.

"Its huge…" Shizune whispered, hugging Tonton a little tighter than necessary.

"What's the plan, Tsunade? We need to act fast."

"Wait a moment, let me think." Tsunade gritted her teeth.

"Look!" Shizune cried out.

The two Sannin turned back and saw that the ship was going for the outskirts of the village, to the training fields outside the village.

"The training grounds…" Tsunade muttered, before ordering Jiraiya to prepare every active shinobi they had.

* * *

**[Konoha - Third Training Ground]**

The Third Training Ground, which was the field in where many generations of shinobi had trained, was peaceful today.

The river flowed without disturbance, the winds blew naturally, and the trees were free to grow without the threat of it being destroyed in the process of training.

Taking advantage of this rare time of peace, a few creatures began to come out from the forest, whether to get a change of atmosphere, to get a bigger room to stretch their limbs, or to simply look for food and resources outside of the dark forest they usually confided themselves in.

A bird flew out from the forest, looking for fallen twigs and small branches to use to make their nests, which was usually the aftermath of the battles of the elemental giants.

A squirrel poked its head out from a bush, looking left and right and above and below for any signs of danger, be it natural or unnatural. Seeing no sign of danger, the little critter darted from the safety of the forest, sniffing around for any fallen nuts, which usually happened after the giants had their battles, their inhuman powers tearing up the trees without care. Finding one, it seized the fallen acorn, checking it for any signs of mold.

It froze in its tracks when it noticed a large shadow forming over its body. Reluctantly abandoning its lucky find, it ran back into the forest, making loud squeaks in terror.

A large, metal ship landed on the spot where the rodent was just a few seconds ago. The doors for the Consular-Class Cruiser slid open, revealing a group of Naboo security guards and a small group of Jedi.

Most of the foreigners stopped to admire the nice scenery, enjoying the sight of the blue sky and the crisp, fresh air. Yoda, however, merely frowned, as if seeing something he did not like.

"Master Yoda, are you alright?" Obi Wan asked the elder master.

"Returned I have, after so long." Yoda responded sadly. "Quieter it has been, since that day. Remnants of war in the air, however, I can still feel."

"I will say," Anakin walked up to the two Jedi Masters. "For a so-called warrior planet, they really didn't seem to notice our ship until we just landed."

The young Skywalker was obviously not impressed with this backwater planet, with Obi Wan rolling his eyes at his arrogance.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, sir." Captain Typho looked around nervously. "I'm starting to think that they're just getting ready for a fight."

"Correct you are, Captain Typho." Yoda nodded, already sensing multiple lifeforms converging towards their location. "Fearful, these natives are. Be cautious, we must be."

"This is going to be extremely difficult if we're going to try and establish solid negotiations." This came from the senator of Alderaan, Bail Organa who joined in with Amidala on this diplomatic mission "What if they do see us as a hostile force?"

"Negotiations will be extremely difficult if the natives are much more hostile than we hope." The senator of Alderaan Bail Organa, said nervously.

He, alongside of every other senator of the Republic, have viewed Yoda's memory of the recently revealed planet of Elementia, and while it's obvious at this point that this Kaguya woman is still contained in the planet's moon, he was more worried about the fact that her son

Hagoromo had granted the people the power of "chakra." Throw in the fact that they were in countless wars before the rise of Kaguya, as well as Yoda's statement about feelings the "remnants of war," he couldn't help but wonder if the Naboo security guards would be able to keep them safe.

"I will have to agree with Senator Organa here, Master Anakin." C3P0 was the last one to exit the Consular Class Cruiser. "With what Master Yoda has told us, we might be dealing with a very dangerous group of people."

"Come on, C-3P0." Anakin replied smugly. "We have better skills and weapons. If they try anything, then we'll act in self defense, and we'll call it a night. Besides, with a Republic Cruiser flow above our heads, how much could they honestly do to us?"

Obi Wan walked up to his friend, and asked, "Anakin, for once can you think like a Jedi and not like a warrior?"

"Hey, what the-!" Anakin cried out.

"What is it, Anaki-" Obi Wan started, but he too quickly realized the new development.

He discovered that for some inexplicable reason, he was completely paralyzed! Furthermore, it would appear that he wasn't the only one, as evident by the Naboo guards and the senators struggling to move, only to be rooted firmly to their spot.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu, complete." Shikamaru said with a smirk. He looked up towards what he assumed to be the possible invaders. "Who are you, and what are your intentions for this village?"

Just as he said these words, numerous Leaf shinobi jumped out of the woods, and the Republic troops and delegates was soon surrounded. Jumping behind Shikamaru was his sensei Asuma and Kakashi Hatake.

"Good work Shikamaru." Asuma complimented his student. "You've bound them without them even noticing it."

"Yeah, nicely done, kid. Let's wait until Lady Hokage arrives." Kakashi said. He gazed at the strange men and women (and whatever the hell the other guys were), who looked rather confused. He guessed that their confusion derived from the Nara kid's jutsu, as well as the language barrier, due to the fact that they spoke another language that they weren't familiar with.

Just then, one of the foreigners - a woman in fancy clothing - said something in anger, which gained their attention. He wasn't sure what she had just said, but he guessed it had something to do with Shikamaru.

…

"They use children as soldiers?" Senator Amidala yelled in disbelief. She had just looked at the person responsible for their paralysis, and was shocked when it turned out to be a young boy. "That's just horrible!"

"Now are you in the mood for your method?" Anakin couldn't help but jab at his master. "It might be helpful now."

"Of course with your planning, it's no surprise it always ends up like this." Obi Wan playfully shot back as he stared back at the warriors in front of them. As predicted, the natives of Elementia had long forgotten Galactic Basic, which Hagamoro had quickly learned using his "Rinnegan," as Yoda had explained. Hopefully, they can get C-3P0 to talk to them before a potential war breaks out.

"C-3P0." Obi Wan said to the droid.

"Oh dear!" The protocol droid exclaimed, sounding genuinely surprised. "I do believe that this is the very first time that you have ever spoken to me by my name in forever!"

Obi Wan chuckled at that.

"Yes, yes, that might be true. Anyways, could you please talk to these natives and tell them that we are here on a diplomatic mission?"

"Oh." C-3P0 seemed reluctant to do so, given the number of potential hostiles that were standing in front of them. "Are you certain that is what you want me to do?"

"Go, and take R2 with you." Padme said, trying to free herself from the mysterious grip. "They don't seem to see you as a threat, so you may be our only hope of diplomacy."

"As you wish, my lady." C-3PO nodded, before turning to his buddy. "Come, R2."

The small Astro-droid beeped rather grumpily for some reason as it started moving forwards with the silver droid towards the three shinobi, which left them feeling nervous and quite confused.

Asuma was visible stunned by the approaching metal beings.

"Wait, are those...machines?"

"What a drag…" Shikamaru sighed, although he was secretly interested in them. "Looks like it...but who knows?"

"I've seen a lot of things in my life," Kakashi said with a raised eyebrow, "but this takes the cake."

"Hello, my name is C-3PO, human cyborg relations," He introduced himself, before turning to his friend. "And this is my counterbot, R2-D2."

The shorter droid wiggled and beeped to greet them.

The three Shinobi turned to each other silently, confirming C-3P0's suspicions about their language barrier..

"Oh, I see you don't understand me. Perhaps my knowledge of your language is severely outdated. Well, I can translate over 6 million languages, and I am built to quickly learn and adapt to all forms of communication, so please just say a sentence, and I can roughly translate it to my master."

Contrary to the droid's belief, the three shinobi could understand him. After all, this...machine, was somehow speaking their language. They were, however, too gobsmacked to even utter a single word. 6 million languages? What exactly was this thing, a walking computer?

"Oh my, how can I get you to speak?" C-3P0 wondered out loud. He turned to the astromech to his right. "R2, any suggestions?"

R2 gave a series of beeps that sounded suspiciously like snickers as he rolled over towards the kneeling Shikamaru, stopping right in front of him.

"Huh?"

A part of R2's body then opened up, revealing what looked to be a small pipe. Before anyone could even blink, a jet of black oil was squirted into the Nara's face.

"Argh!" Shikamaru jumped back and grabs his face, stopping his jutsu.

"Oh no…" Obi Wan muttered, hoping to the Force that the mischievous droid's actions didn't just started a war.

"R2, that's not what I meant!" C-3PO said, worried to death about the potential consequences of his friend's actions. The protocol droid kicked the R2 unit's side. "Stupid astromech."

"Hey!" Shikamaru shouted at the droid, trying to get rid of the oil from his face. "What was that about?!"

"Oh my!" C-3PO exclaimed, raising his hands up. "So your language hasn't changed after all! You can understand me! "

"...Yes, we can." Kakashi confirmed. "Our...apologies for the late reply. As you can see, we're rather mind blown at the moment."

"Quite understandable. Nothing to be ashamed about." C-3P0 assured them. "Anyways, so now that communications are quite clear, I can finally deliver my message: We are not here intenting for war. Instead, we are here on the behalf of the galactic Republic in order to discuss talks, especially regarding the possibility of open trade, the construction of space ports, as well as a spot in the Republic Senate Chamber."

"Wait wait wait, a space port?" Asuma asked carefully. "You mean…you all come from space?"

"Well, not necessarily from space, but from our capital planet, Coruscant." C-3PO answered. "With the Senators from Naboo and Alderaan, as well as a few members of the Jedi Order, we've come on an official diplomatic mission in the name of the Republic to establish first contacts between your world and the galaxy."

This turned every shinobi pale what they heard from a short distance from the droid.

Kakashi and Asuma turned to look at each other, and realized just how much bigger the situation - and their world - had just gotten. They barely understood half of what was going on, but they did understand one key thing: These strange beings are from beyond the stars, and they were intelligent life, coming on board a vehicle with technology far superior to theirs, with perhaps even weapons far superior to theirs.

"We need to escort them to the Hokage immediately." Asuma quickly noted.

"Right." Kakashi nodded.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, didn't seem to give a damn about the whole situation, and was still trying to get the oil off his face.

"Aliens and machines from outer space." Shikamaru sighed, grimacing at his new jacket's ruined sleeve. "What a drag."

Meanwhile, Master Yoda thought it now was the best moment to explore around so he said to the Senators and Jedi "Go to the leader, you will. Explore I will the village." He said walking with his cane away towards the village on his own.

…

While the droids did their talking, the dark shadow that held everyone prisoner was suddenly cut off from their shadows, and the members of the Republic suddenly found themselves able to move.

"Shall we prepare for combat?" Typho asked.

Obi Wan quickly shook his head.

"I don't believe that'll be necessary." Obi Wan said, watching as their droid was finally communicating with the native soldiers.

The shinobi saw a bearded man approach them and he introduced himself with a slight bow of respect, with C-3P0 making sure to translate each party's words.

"Hello, my name is Obi-Wan Kenobi of the Jedi Order."

"Kakashi Hatake." Kakashi introduced himself, before pointing at his friend. "This is Asuma Sarutobi. Your machine said that you're here on a diplomatic mission?"

"Droid, actually. And yes, those are our intentions." Obi Wan nodded, trying to ease the tense atmosphere. "Will you please take us to your leader, whoever he or she may be?"

"Our leader's name is Tsunade. Lady Tsunade." A voice appeared out of nowhere, making everybody jump in surprise.

A white haired man wearing sage-like clothing had just appeared out of nowhere. Despite his age, it was clear that he was a strong warrior, perhaps the strongest of the group, as evident by his tear-like red markings on his face, as well as the muscles that could be seen from underneath his clothing.

"The name's Jiraiya, and we'll escort you to her office." His eyes then gazed at the Naboo Senator, and suddenly his hard eyes turned into ones full of lust. "Together with this fine lady…"

Padme laughed rather awkwardly at the man.

"That's good to know." Padme smiled politely. "Please lead the way."

And with that, they all began to walk to the group, save for a few of the guards who stayed behind to guard their ship. Padme quickly regrouped with the Jedi with Senator Organa, following the Sannin and the other shinobi towards the village.

Anakin chose to cover the rear, where he was able to shoot glares at the white-haired man safely.

"That man's an open pervert." Anakin growled to his master. "He's been eyeballing Padme like a piece of meat for a while."

"I wouldn't be so worried if I were you." Obi Wan replied. "Senator Amidala knows how to deal with these kind of things. After all, she wasn't a former queen and the current senator for her looks, you know."

Obi Wan then raised his eyebrows at the Skywalker.

"Besides, why are you so invested into the senator's life?"

"I'm just concerned for the senator." Anakin said truthfully. "We don't know what kind of people we're dealing with. Who knows, their leader might be a ruthless woman."

"I suppose your concerns are valid, but do try to worry less, my friend." Obi Wan warned him. "Or else you may never become a Master."

"Yes, master." They all then walked in silence, save for the occasional light-hearted chatter amongst themselves to try to calm themselves down.

Despite their attempts to relieve their anxiety, they all couldn't help but be nervous at the meeting with the village leader. If a warrior, who hadn't even reached adulthood yet, was able to paralyze the entire group without warning, then just what could their village leader be capable of?

* * *

**[The Hokage's Office]**

THUD!

Everyone jumped a little when Tsunade Senju, the blonde-haired leader of the village, slammed down her now empty sake bottle. This honestly took the visitors by surprise, since they were expecting a very strict leader, with an equally harsh, hostile view on them for suddenly entering their village.

Tsunade looked up at the bodyguards, then Jedi, then the senators, who were sitting in front of her, before reaching down from under her desk. The human guards from Naboo tensed up, their fingers reaching for the trigger, until it turned out that she just pulled out another bottle of sake. Ripping open the cap, she downed it in front of everyone, getting sweatdrops from both the Republic and the shinobi.

Anakin whispered to his master, "I guess this is her way with coping with the fact that she's meeting people from outer space."

"Indeed it is, my friend." Obi Wan said, while trying to hold back a chuckle. "Granted, she is taking this rather well, I believe, all things considering."

Shizune cleared her throat, before she tried to step in.

"Lady Tsunade, please stop drinking." She pleaded. "This is not the way to make first contact with people from other world!"

CRUNCH!

The empty bottle shattered into a dozen pieces in her hands, making her assistant scurry away from her now-ticked off boss.

She cracked her knuckles after using a towel to wipe her hands dry, while observing the reactions form the delegation. Noticing that the two so-called sorcerers, who dressed similarly to the spiritual monks in the Fire Temple, didn't show too much of a reaction towards her. The armored men with strange weapons, for obvious reasons, but it was clear that they were tense and ready for combat if necessary. The machines somehow looked nervous as well, but if she had to be honest, they creeped her out. Especially the silver, humanoid one, with its glowing yellow eyes and it's blank, unchanging expression.

She shifted her focus onto the two senators, who were acting as the representatives for this "Galactic Republic" to act on their behalf to try to set up some negotiations. The guy on the right seemed to be slightly intimidated by the show she was giving, and was doing his best to not look uncomfortable.

The woman to his left - Padme, if she remembered correctly - didn't seem to be intimidated by her at all, but rather, she was glaring at her as if one would glare at a person they had a grudge against.

"You got something on your mind, lady?" Tsunade grunted. "If so, speak up."

C-3P0 quickly translated this to her, and that's when Padme stomped towards her desk. This caused some of the shinobi to move towards her, and some of her guards to raise their weapons, but Tsunade waved them both off.

"You use child soldiers." Padme said, slamming her hands on Tsunade's desk.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Padme stated, challenging the Sannin. "Forget the fact that you're intoxicated while we're here to discuss the future of your village. You seem to not be ashamed at the idea of sending a child into the frontline and potentially risking his life."

"Senator Amidala," Bail began, trying to stop this from escalating. "Maybe-"

"Look, missy," Tsunade shot back to the senator. "What you saw is reality out here - our reality. While your mother was still in some stuck up school or whatever, I was already saving lives on the battlefield when I wasn't even sixteen yet. This place isn't such a peaceful planet, which, by the looks of your white knights, you probably already suspected. This place isn't such a peaceful planet like wherever you came from. So unless you're trying to start something with me, I don't want to hear it."

The blonde was now leaning over her desk, her face just inches away from the brunette's, glaring directly into the former queen of Naboo, who wasn't easily intimidated.

"Well for your information, I have seen my own people getting killed. I fought alongside my people when my planet Naboo was invaded by the Trade Federation. I fought alongside them to take back my home, and we won. I volunteered with a relief group and helped to relocate the children who had to flee from the Federation, some which died without even been given the chance to live their full life."

Taking a second to allow herself to breathe, as well as to allow C-3P0 to do his work as fast as he could, she continued to glare at the female leader, before she continued.

"I may know what other planets do, such as this one, but that doesn't mean I won't speak my mind about it, Lady Hokage."

The entire time this exchange went out, the atmosphere grew impossible tense, wondering which lady would strike at each other first, possibility igniting a war that one side will lose.

After one full minute of ominous silence, Tsunade smirked, making a half smile at the senator.

"Well, you've guts, senator. That, I can respect. I can see it in your eyes from one soldier to another that every word you just said wasn't bullshit. Looks like you aren't the stuck-up princess I thought you were."

Padme sat back down. " I assume you've lost loved ones?"

"Yeah, I lost some people…" Tsunade laid back on her chair wearily, her eyes lost in thought. She was brought back to those terrible moments, where she watched her brother Nawaki and her lover Dan die in her arms, with all those years of training as a medic seemingly gone to waste in that moment.

"I'm sorry for your loss, madam." Padme said in a respectful tone.

"Don't sweat it." Tsunade sighed, and turned back to the delegation. "It's been a long time. All I can do is to just try not to think about it too much. But I understand your concern about the age of our shinobi going into battle. Unfortunately this is the way it's been going on for centuries, and it doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon."

"If I may join the conversation, I want to ask you a couple of vital questions." Obi Wan stepped in. "Before we came down here, we've done a planetary scan, and we've found more settlements like this village across the nation."

"You must be talking about the other shinobi villages." Jiraiya said, answering the Jedi's question. "There are numerous villages much like ours throughout the nation, which is divided into a few countries. Each country tends to have just one shinobi village."

Jiraiya pulled out a map from Tsunade's desk. Laying it out, he began to describe its contents.

"For example, our village Konohagakure (or just Leaf, for your sake) lies in the Land of Fire. As you can probably guess from the map, our village is one of the five great ones of the Elemental Nations, with the other four being Suna (Sand), Kiri (Mist), Kumo (Clouds), and Iwa (Rocks). The rest are smaller villages, like Taki (Waterfall), Kusa (Grass), Ame (Rain), and so forth."

Poor C-3P0 did his best to keep up. Anakin raised his eyebrows when C-3P0 noted to them the literal translations for the villages.

"Each village is named after what its known for." Jiraiya shrugged. "Kirigakure, or as your 'droid' translated as 'Village Hidden in the Mists,' is known to be always surrounded with a thick mist, due to its location being on an island surrounded by the sea. The mist is always so thick that if you tried to make it there on ship, you wouldn't see the rocks until the damned things sent your ships to the bottom of the sea."

Bail cleared his throat, effectively grabbing their attention.

"Is there any way to contact the other villages?"

"I wouldn't try it just yet." Tsunade shook her head. "Our village isn't exactly at ease with any of the other current villages right now, especially with the other four main powers."

Obi Wan grew more interested into the conversation. "Please explain just how bad the relations are."

"Well for one, Leaf and Rock haven't been in good contact with each other for almost over a decade after the Third Great Shinobi War."

"Third Great Shinobi War?"

"Everyone was involved." Someone said grimly. Everyone's eyes turned towards the new speaker, and found that it was the masked man named Kakashi. "The Rock and Leaf were fighting across the eastern lands of Grass, with many casualties on both sides in the process for months. The front was undecided until the battle of Kannabi Bridge, which turned the war in the Leaf's favor, but that was only one front. On the southwestern fronts, the Leaf was fighting against Mist, or also known at the time as 'Bloody Mist.' The casualty rates was almost like the one against Stone."

Kakashi's singular eye seemed to dim as he stared at the map.

"How many?" This time the one asking the next question was Typho, the Naboo captain who wore the blue armor. He had deduced that Kakashi was a survivor of that war. "How many comrades did you lose in that war?"

"...My best friend got killed at the Kannabi Bridge." Kakashi slowly answered. "My other friend died in a battle with the Hidden Mist. Lost my whole team in that war… "

Typho nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry to hear that. I really mean it."

"Much obliged."

"...Anyways," Jiraiya reluctantly cut in. "With the Rock Village, it's most likely that they won't talk to us, much less you guys. Hell, they'll probably try to shoot you down the moment they see you guys, using the natural terrain they surround themselves with. The Hidden Mist, on the other hand, is in complete chaos, last I heard."

"How so?"

"It's in the midst of a civil war." Jiraiya explained. "We don't know how it began but fighting broke off after a clan tried to rebel against the Mizukage, their village leader, causing him to turn a rampage against all the clans who either got slaughtered or forced to flee. We still don't know who's exactly on the winning side, whether it's the rebels or the Mizukage, so I would wait until speaking with them. Unlike us, they kill outsiders on sight."

"That's quite a way to send a message." Obi Wan said, stroking his beard. This would prove to be difficult in the future for sure. "What about the Hidden Cloud, or 'Kumo', as you would call it?"

"They've been keeping a very low key profile on their activities for the last ten years." Tsunade said, shaking her head from the alcohol's influence. "They keep to themselves, and are trying to stay out from everyone's problems after the Hyuga incident."

"Hyuga incident?"

"One of their Shinobi - the ambassador, actually, - tried to kidnap the heiress of the Hyuga clan, which ended in his death and one of the Hyuga members giving up his life to prevent a war." Tsunade answered. "The Hidden Cloud is what we believe to be the second most powerful shinobi village at the moment."

Bail Organa couldn't help but feel more uncomfortable about being on the same planet with these brutes. Their culture and their history of war was reminding him a little too much about Mandalore.

"And Suna?"

"Well...maybe not yet." Jiraiya slowly said. "Long story short, they were our allies until they teamed up with the Hidden Sound for an attempted invasion not that long ago. I mean, we won, and the Sand surrendered, but… "

Jiraiya's face turned grim.

"They… managed to take out the Third Hokage, as well as many of our own shinobi, before fleeing. But, since we all discovered that the Sand was tricked into the invasion by an...impersonator, the Sand is now asking for renegotiations."

Jiraiya looked at the map once more, before looking back at the senators.

"That's pretty much it for the big villages. The smaller ones are either neutral for the most part, or may be secretly allied with the Sound Village. Either way, it might not be a good idea to approach them for a while."

"Duly noted." Bail Organa nodded, knowing well just how fragile peace can be, and how there was a time and place to approach new life.

"Wait, something doesn't add up." Senator Amidala spoke up, just realizing an important missing detail. "You said that a while ago, the Third Hokage was killed, but if the woman in front of me is the Fifth Hokage, what happened to the Fourth?"

The air around them suddenly grew tense, and it was at that moment that Padme knew that she had just broken what seemed to be a taboo subject.

Finally, Jiraiya opened his mouth to answer.

"The Fourth Hokage died almost fourteen years ago, just months after he helped win the Third Great Shinobi War, and after being recently inaugurated as the Fourth Hokage."

He then pointed at a photo across the room. Everyone's eyes followed his finger, and looked at a portrait of a blonde, handsome man smiling at the audience.

"His name was Minato Namikaze, also nicknamed 'The Yellow Flash,' due to his ability to transport to almost teleport from one position to another in a blink of an eye."

Anakin's curiosity got the better of him as he asked, "How did he die?"

Again, the uncomfortable silence returned, and the security guards tensed up again, seeing the shinobi's fingers itch for their blades.

"...We're sorry, but that information cannot be revealed directly, due to the late Third Hokage's law that prohibits it." Shizune finally said, shivering at the tension in the room.

It didn't take a force user to notice the feelings of grief, regret, and sadness that filled the room. It also didn't take a force user like Obi Wan and Anakin to quickly realize that talking about the Fourth Hokage was a literal taboo subject.

"We're sorry for bringing it up." Obi Wan apologized on behalf of his partner, to which the Hokage nodded at him.

"Anyways," Organa decided to resume the original conversation before the situation grew more awkward. "Shall we discuss the future of your village and the Republic?"

The normal politics were resumed as the two Jedi sighed, as they had to watch and listen to it.

Anakin then began to wonder about something. "I wonder what Master Yoda is doing."

"For once my friend, you've outthought me."

* * *

Yūgao Uzuki sighed from behind her mask. The ANBU agent was tasked by the Hokage herself to guard the young boy she used to protect from harm years ago when Naruto was only a small child.

Together with Kakashi, they were one of the few to willingly stop anybody from harming the young boy from any harm while working in the shadows. Like the one-eyed shinobi, she was one of the very few to know about his heritage. After all, one of his parents used to be her sensei…

It pained her to see her sensei's son breathing out of a tube, in a coma where there was that scary chance that he may never wake up. Hearing that he had sustained potentially fatal wounds, her relief came from the news that Shizune was the one leading the operation. Knowing her medical expertise, as well as their mutual fondness for the boy, she knew he was in good hands.

She stroked Naruto's whiskered cheek with the back of her hand, and she smiled when his lips twitched into a smile. While she learned a while ago that it wasn't a sign of him waking up, it was at least comforting to know that he could still smile, and that he could still recognize her presence.

Watching the boy from his first day in the Academy to his success in the Suna/Oto invasion, Naruto had shown his loyalty and strength every chance he could, even when he had the worst given to him by the village's civilians, and even from some of its shinobi.

"Don't worry, Naruto, you've done your job." Yūgao whispered to the boy. "Your mother would be proud of you."

Just as she said those words, the door opened, making Yūgao turn towards the door to see who it was. Her hands immediately shot towards her sword, when two ANBU guards stepped inside.

"It's alright, they're...visitors." They both said a little too hesitantly. Narrowing her eyes, they traveled to the two strangers. Outfitted with brown and dark colored armor, they held strange, small items in their hands that she could only assume was their weapons.

"Who the hell are they?" She asked.

"My bodyguards, they are." An unfamiliar voice explained from underneath them. Her eyes traveled downward, and her eyebrow shot up at the sight of a small, child-sized green creature wearing what appeared to be monk robes.

"Yeah, I know." The ANBU guard nodded in agreement. "A bit much to take in. All would be explained later. Long story short, diplomatic mission, not from here, and they're friendly."

"Alright then… " Yūgao reluctantly moved her hands away from her weapon, making the guards relax. The short, green man(?) slowly walked towards the blond.

"What are your intentions with the boy?" Yūgao asked cooly.

"Just talk, I want to." The elderly being said. She raised her eyebrow at his strange manner of speech.

"He's in a coma, in case you hadn't noticed."

"Not him, I wish to talk to." He said, making her eyes widen. Before she could think about whether or not to execute him on the spot for knowing the forbidden secret, he placed his three-fingered hand on his stomach, and closed his eyes.

* * *

**[The Prison]**

Yoda opened his eyes, and found himself to be in what looked like a sewer system. Dark, dank, and ominously quiet, the only sounds that could be heard was the sound of water splashing as he moved around the large tunnels.

Before he knew it, Yoda had found a large cage in front of it, with the only lock being a large piece of paper on it, with some letters written with the native's language on it.

Yoda decided to walk closer to the gate. He thought about trying to enter the cage, but decided against it.

**"WHO'S THERE?!"** A loud roar echoed the hallway, which made Yoda step back in surprise.

Large footsteps shook the hallway as something large stepped up to the cage. Yoda looked up, and his jaw dropped at the sheer size of the being that stood in front of him. It was Kurama alright - but he had grown much bigger.

The Nine-Tailed Fox, who was once only the size of a small house, had grown to the size of mountains. The orange beast, who had once been able to look down at Yoda with ease, loomed over him. Had Yoda been any other person, he would've admittedly been afraid.

The large beast growled from above, the sound which would've frightened off an army of krayt dragons. Unable to see the intruder, the giant crouched down to take a better look at him.

His eyes widened upon recognizing the small man as he choked a little bit.

**"Y-Yoda?"**

"Kurama." Yoda grew a small smile on his face. "Grown you have."

"Yoda…"

CRASH!

Kurama slammed his hand against the ground, almost unbalancing Yoda from where he stood. The large fox growled at his old friend.

**"You got a lot of nerve to come here after all these years!"** Kurama roared at the Jedi Master with anger that shook the whole area. The water from underneath them ripples from the pure hate and power that radiated from the creature. Still, Yoda remained calm in the face of the beast.

"Angry you are, I can understand." Yoda said as he fearlessly made a step forward. "Assume your experience, bad it has been?"

**"Bad? BAD?! It's only been** **bad after Hagoromo passed away!"** Kurama hissed, slashing at the seal in anger. **"Ever since his death, I've been hunted and hated by humans for the last six centuries! I wasn't able to see the others because we've been hunted by humans, who are after us for our power and want to use us as weapons! I have been sealed inside one human after another for the last hundred years, and now I'm stuck inside this annoying brat who's barely breathing because he's a reckless idiot!"** Kurama shouted, unleashing his years of hatred and frustration at the old man. He huffed, glaring at his old friend, who simply stared back in sadness.

After a few minutes, his eyes finally dimmed down, hatred fading away from them for the moment.

**"It's good to see you, Yoda. It's been too long since I've seen a familiar face…"**

"That I agree on. But, forgot the lesson, you did."

**"What are you on about, old man?"** Kurama got off track. **"And how are you even still alive? You must be-"**

"Talk about age, I'd rather not." Yoda chuckled. "Makes me feel old, it does. But still, forgotten the lessons, you have."

Using the Force, Yoda banished the water away from beneath him, and sat down on the cold floor. The Kyuubi decided to have a seat as well, and noted that a ring of dry land remained around the green Force-user, despite the water's efforts to try to invade that area of dry space.

"Give this boy, a chance you should." Yoda looked up at Kurama. "Sign of ignorance, the prejudgment of someone is."

Yoda himself has faced a lifetime of bigoted comments, as well as many unpleasant encounters with some close minded people.

**"Why should I?"** Kurama narrowed his eyes at Yoda's suggestion. **"The brat won't even speak to me unless he needs me, so why should I waste my time with him?"**

"Both of you will need each other, when the time is right." Yoda stated rather bluntly. "Sense a dark future, I have."

**"When will that happen?"**

"Know, I do not. Trust in the Force, you should. Need each other, you both will."

Kurama narrowed his eyes at the little old man, but he could tell that he was telling the truth. He didn't know much about this "Force," nor about the powers that came with it, but what he did know was that at times, it helped warn the user about a future event that would happen.

**"You still have trouble talking normally, old man,"**

Yoda chuckled at this, which brought a small grin to his face.

**"But, I'll take your word for it. Hagoromo trusted you, so I will too."**

His eyes then glared at the seal that bound him to the boy.

**"It's nice to know that you're still breathing, old man. The others would be very pleased to see you as well."**

Yoda smiled at the Nine-Tailed Fox. "Chance in the future, there may be. Came, the Republic has, to establish ties with the village, it is doing right now."

Kurama raised an eyebrow at that.

**"So after all these years, you guys finally decided to come back from your silly war to try to establish connections with these hairless monkeys? Hah, good luck with that. I've seen the people here fight so many wars that I learned to stop counting."**

"Any word from the others?" Yoda asked, referring to the other Tailed Beasts. Kurama shook his head.

**"Like I said, old man, they suffered the same faith as I have."** Kurama knocked at the seal from behind his cage. **"I did recently encounter that idiot Shukaku though. His container was a bit nuts, and he tried to attack the brat's village not that long ago. He pretty much got his ass kicked by my container, who only used a little bit of my chakra to defeat him at his full form."**

Kurama roared in laughter. **"I hate to admit it, but the brat started growing on me when he beat up Shukaku's ass!"**

Yoda chuckled, delighted to see Kurama laugh. It reminded him of that innocent laugh that he had when he was just a small fox.

Curious, he then asked, "The name of the boy, what is?"

**"Oh, the kid?"** Kurama grunted. **"His mother was actually my previous host, and her family was known to be the Seal Masters across the nation."** Kurama chuckled. **"And guess who's name is it."**

Yoda listened as Kurama gave a brief history about the kid's mother, her family, and the kid himself. Yoda's ears drooped as he was stunned and saddened to know the fate of the kid's family, as well as his harsh life that he lived out in the village.

"Many hardships, life seems to have brought to him. Deserved it, he did not. Good heart, he seems to have, according to you." Yoda sighed.

**"Yeah…"** Kurama agreed. **"The kid's annoying as hell and eats unhealthy, and there are times when I want to rip my ears out in frustration, but, as painful as it is to say this, the brat does remind me of Hagoromo at times. The boy's got determination, loyalty, strong willpower, and a strong convictions protect those who are precious to him."**

The more he talked about Naruto, the more he realized that he kind of liked the kid after all.

"I see." Yoda nodded with a smile. He then glanced upwards, as if sensing something.

"Unfortunately, but go, I must. Speak to you again, I hope to do so soon."

**"See you soon, old friend."** Kurama gave a genuine smile for the first time in ages.

"Indeed, we will."

* * *

Opening his eyes, Yoda grunted after his mind exited the boy's seal. He frowned at what he learned about the tailed beasts, and how even after everything that has happened, it would appear that the natives have not learned their lesson after Kaguya.

That could, however, change, thanks to the boy named Naruto Uzumaki, who, despite all the hate and prejudice, had chosen to stay with the village, to try to protect those that he cared about. Perhaps with this boy's help, he can help bridge the gap between the tailed beasts and the natives. Perhaps with this boy's help, Kurama could learn to open up to others again, and be that small fox from many centuries ago.

"Unpredictable, this one is." Yoda said, before getting off the chair to leave the room. "Like his future, very unpredictable."

Just before he went out of earshot from Naruto's room, he noticed a group of teenagers approaching the boy's room. He could sense their worry for the boy, and their smiles from when the purple-haired woman assured them that everything was alright, and that they could visit the boy with their permission.

"Powerful Jedi, become you could. Looking forward to see your future, I am." Yoda said to no one, before putting his hood over his head, and walking away. "Your name, history has not forgotten. Traits of my old friend, you have."

Yoda knew that the moment they felt The Ripple, everything would change. He knew that with this planet now under the eyes of both the Jedi and the Sith, things will be forever changed. How, is the question. Unfortunately, only time will tell.

The Force itself was indeed mysterious in its ways.


	3. A Painful Departure

**24 BBY [Konoha, 2 Months Later]**

Two months.

That's how long it has been since the Retrieval Mission's success. That was also how long it has been since the people from the Galactic Republic has visited their planet since forever. In those short two months, a lot has changed for not just the Leaf Village, but also for the world they have now came to identify as "Elementia."

After a few tense moments, the Republic diplomats was successful in their mission to communicate with the natives, and to establish first contact peacefully. The Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire was enthusiastic to accept the terms of the deal the Republic had offered, and just like that, they became the first society of Elementia to have connections with the Galactic Republic, with the news going global around the world of this new development.

It didn't take long before the other Shinobi Villages were approached by the Republic. They either accepted their invitation to join the Republic, were still indecisive about the choice, or outright rejected their offer. Currently, more negotiations and meetings were happening between the other Kages and Feudal Lords, with the main issue being trade between the villages, potential job distributions, as well as old conflicts getting in the way of progress.

As for Konoha, however, the change was already growing visible, as evident by the upgrading Hokage Tower and the landing ports being built outside of the village.

The village's renovation was being observed from the Konoha Hospital window, where Shizune and Tsunade were watching the technological progress from above.

"Wow…" Shizune's hands trembled slightly as she did her best to not drop her folders. "I still can't believe this is happening…"

She turned to look at her teacher - and deadpanned when she saw the Hokage drinking again.

Tsunade was currently emptying a small container of sake that she carried around with her.

"Ahhh, that hits the spot."

"Lady Tsunade!"

"Don't be like that, Shizune." Tsunade grunted. "It's only a small drink."

"But still-"

"Let's not change the topic." Tsunade turned to walk with her apprentice. "How's the kid's recovery going?"

"Oh, Naruto? Oh, you know him: No matter what life throws at him, he bounces right back." Shizune smiled.

She glanced at the medical reports, and read, "He passed the examinations, and is currently doing some rehabilitation exercises for muscular regeneration and for his respiratory system. Of course, he'll still be out of commission for maybe a month or so to properly recover from his internal wounds, but aside from that, he's doing great!"

"That's good to know." Tsunade smiled as they arrived at Naruto's room. She knocked on the door, and after a few seconds of silence, they let themselves in.

Sitting on his bed was Naruto, who was staring out the window. Still wrapped up in bandages, it was hard to tell what Naruto was thinking as he gazed at the technological revolution going on just outside of them.

"Naruto."

The boy seemed a little startled as he finally turned around to greet his visitors.

"Oh hey Granny. Hey, Sis. Good to see you." Naruto said in an unusually calm way, before turning back to the window to stare at the construction.

Tsunade, who did not expect this strange behavior from her newly-adopted grandson, sobered up immediately. She turned to Shizune to whisper into her ear.

"Why is he so-"

"Different? Quieter? Down?" Shizune finished her question. "You're not the only one asking that, my Lady. Ever since Naruto was told of the damage inflicted on him, as well as Team 7's disbandment, he hasn't really been himself. Even the news about the Galactic Republic didn't seem to faze him too much."

"I see." Tsunade finally said wearily. Seeing Naruto looking and sounding so down did the same to her as well, finding his emotions to be surprisingly contagious at times. "When will his mental examination take place?"

"I asked Inoichi Yamanaka personally, and he said that he's open to check on Naruto this evening."

"Good, I want to know those reports at first hand."

"I can still hear you guys." Naruto broke their silent conversation without looking back. "So you don't have to talk behind my back."

An awkward silence filled the air as they realized what they just did. Tsunade finally cleared her throat, breaking the silence, before walking back up to the blond.

"How are you, kid?"

"I'm...doing fine." Naruto said slowly. "I just...didn't expect any of this to happen, honestly."

"Which one, the visitors from outer space, or Sasuke being the reason for Team 7's disbandment."

Naruto flinched at that last part, and Tsunade wondered if she had gone a little too far with her bluntness. Fortunately, Naruto seemed to recover quickly enough.

"Kinda both. Right now though, I think the aliens from outer space really takes the cake on the level of unexpected."

That made Tsunade smile a bit, hearing a little bit of the Naruto she knew and grew to love and care for.

"Well kiddo, you're taking it better than I did. I mean, I'll admit, the first thing I did when those guys came from the sky, I ended up emptying about four bottles of sake on the spot." Tsunade said with a smirk.

"Tsk, pretty much the same reaction when you played our savings away." Shizune muttered.

Tsunade turned to her apprentice with narrowed eyes. "What was that, Shizune?"

Gulping, Shizune stumbled backwards.

"I, um, I'll just leave you two alone." She said, before hastily leaving the two to themselves.

Once left alone, Naruto suddenly became more open to her. "Granny, I need you to answer me about something."

"About what, kid?" Tsunade asked, wondering what Naruto had on his mind. "You know, you're not usually like thi-"

"Is Team 7 really going to disband?" He asked his question to her while staring through the window.

"Listen Naruto, whatever you promised to-"

"Is our team going to disband?" Naruto turned to her with an empty stare, looking directly at her. "Just be honest with me. Yes or no?"

Tsunade sighed, deciding to finally be upfront about it. "Yes, by the looks of it, Team 7 will be broken up until further notice."

"So that's it. Team 7 is finished." Naruto said numbly, before turning back to the window. "And I heard that my shinobi career is over as well."

The Galactic Republic had recently instituted a policy that prohibited children from joining the military of one's nation or planet's state until they reach the age of seventeen, to which Tsunade had agreed on after some hesitation, meaning that all shinobi under that age would be put in non-active duty, or simply were put on small tasks that mostly involved working inside the village.

"It's not over, Naruto. You're just put out of active duty for at least until you turn seventeen, then you can go back to being assigned to missions outside the village."

"With who? If my team gets disbanded, me and Sakura will be floaters."

A floater was another word for genin team members who lost their comrades and were waiting in circulation for a re-assembling shinobi team, which could mean months or even years for the average shinobi.

"I guess it's finally time for some good news, kid." That voice came from the window. The two blondes looked outside, and saw that it was Jiraiya, who was sitting on top of a giant toad he had summoned.

"Pervy Sage?"

"I'm gonna ignore that for your health." Jiraiya said calmly. "Anyways, I came here to tell you that I've got a plan for us to leave this village so that we can focus on your training."

This news made Naruto's sore back stiffen in surprise.

"Huh, why?"

"Because of Akatsuki." Jiraiya said without hesitation. "I've been told by my informants that they put their operations on hold for now, and seemed to have completely disappeared." The Toad Sage said, turning to his apprentice. "I'm planning on leaving right after you've been discharged from the hospital, but not before I get a medical examination from Tsunade herself. Will you?"

Tsunade nodded. "Of course I will."

"But wait!" Naruto frantically waved his hands to get them both to pause. "W-what about Sakura?"

"She's going to become a medical ninja." Tsunade answered, making Naruto turn to her. "She's got potential. If she can pass the tests Shizune's giving her now, then I might consider taking her under _my_ wing."

Tsunade had been initially hesitant to give the pinkette a chance, since she's been told all the horror stories about her being a typical, useless fangirl, who was, to be quite blunt, a burden to the shinobi ranks, and quite personally, a disgrace to all of the kunoichi who had to fight tooth and nail to get to where they are, as well as to try to banish that embarrassing stereotype. But when Sakura begged for a chance, admitting to her mistakes and expressing her desire to not become a burden to her future teammates, she decided to give the girl just one chance.

Satisfied, Jiraiya cleared his throat. "With this news about the Akatsuki, we got a chance to train you properly without any distractions, and prepare you for if and when they return."

Naruto's face hardened at the memory of his encounter with the two Akatsuki members. He remembered how even with the Kyuubi's chakra, he was rendered useless because of the shark man's sword, which apparently could eat chakra. He also remembered just how Itachi, the man that Sasuke had always talked about killing, just utterly destroyed his Uchiha friend. Sasuke, the prodigy of the Academy, the one who managed to puncture Gaara's sand shield with Kakashi's Chidori, was helpless against his elder brother, who humiliated him in front of Naruto and the shark man. He even did something to Sasuke's mind, which is probably what drove him to try to defect in the first place.

The young jinchuuriki turned back towards Tsunade. "When?"

"Tomorrow, if possible." Tsunade answered, folding her arms. "You've been having a steady recovery, but I still want you to take it easy, at least for another week or two. That's where I count on you, Jiraiya." She said with a clear warning.

Jiraiya only laughed at her as a response, and nodded. "Don't worry about us, Tsunade. He's going to be in good hands. When he comes back to the village, you won't even recognize him." Jiraiya promised to his friend and long time comrade with a smirk.

This got Tsunade to shake her head, before a small chuckle escaped her lips. Despite Jiraiya's foolishness, she knew that he was being serious this time, and that he would do anything to make sure Naruto didn't do something stupid.

"Alright then. We'll leave you alone for now, Naruto. Get as much rest as you can."

"Yeah kid, get some shuteye while you can. This will be your last night in the village." Jiraiya said, before hopping out the window and landing on the toad's head.

Naruto looked out of the window, and saw his perverted teacher leave on the toad, leaving the blonde knucklehead on his own. He looked back towards the sky, and saw that it was already getting dark, already seeing stars in the sky.

While he didn't show it, he was very excited to learn that there was life beyond their blue sky, and that there was a whole galaxy filled with planets, filled with diverse people and animals.

Deep in his heart, however, he was also slightly frightened at the news.

Why? Well, one minute, he was fighting his teammate after a long chase across the vast forests, and the next minute after he woke up, he heard and saw that his village had been visited by people from outer space, and now there are spaceports and other futuristic technology being built around their village. Fear was a rather appropriate response if you asked anybody, especially to a coma patient.

"If there are over billions of people born around the galaxy…" Naruto asked to himself, "Then why was I born here alone?" That particular question didn't come out of nowhere for Naruto. He had always wondered why it was him that had to take the burden of being the Kyuubi's container. He had always wondered why out of everybody in the world, he had to also lose his parents, who could've protected him from the glares and who could've helped him sleep at night in peace. He had always wondered who his family was, and if they were important enough to where he was chosen to live this rather sad life.

_'Or maybe they just picked a random orphan to use to contain the Kyuubi.'_

Naruto shook his head. He could've focus on those thoughts now. It just made him dizzy all of a sudden. Closing his eyes, he laid his head back onto his soft pillow.

He wondered if even with everything else that was going on, his life would change for the better.

* * *

**[Raxus Secundus, Raxulon]**

Raxulon was one of the many planets that was laid out in the Outer Rim. Forgotten and neglected by the corrupt Republic, it was one of the many planets that was a part of the new, growing faction that was now beginning to rival the Galactic Republic, with Raxulon in particular being the capital base and the political heart of the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS), or as they were better known as the Separatist Alliance.

This alliance was being led by Count Dooku, a former Jedi Master who, like many others, was disgusted by the Republic's corruption and incompetence.

Unbeknownst to the Separatists, however, this wasn't the only reason why Count Dooku was their leader. While Dooku was indeed the leader of the Confederacy, he was secretly under the will of another entity. An entity, who was far stronger than Dooku, and had far more sinister plans for the Separatists than what they were aware of.

Speaking of the Fallen Jedi, he was currently walking through the dark hallway of the empty building, which was previously filled with senators from the Confederacy, who were discussing the latest news about the secret planets Elementia and Earth, which the Jedi were keeping from the Republic, as well as the current politics on the said planets. That was the same topic that he intended to talk about with his master, who had summoned him.

_'Who knew that there was still so much about the Force that we had yet to learn about.'_ Dooku thought, trembling with slight fear and excitement when he thought back to "The Ripple", as the Jedi called it. _'Large beasts made from the Dark Side of the Force? How intriguing…'_

Dooku then shook his head as he made it to his room. It wouldn't do good for him to be lost in his thoughts when his master was talking to him. He knew from experience that making his master angry was never a good idea. Taking the time to clear his mind, he locked his room to prevent any possibilities of unwanted guests, before he activated his holotransmitter.

A human-sized hologram popped up, and Dooku made sure to go on his knee to bow to Lord Sidious.

"Master…."

_"Lord Tyranus."_ His master's voice rasped through the holotransmitter. _"I'm eager to hear about the results of today's politics on Raxus."_

"I am pleased to inform you that with the vast support of the full chamber, led by Senator Bonteri, a delegation will be prepared to leave for the two planets for a diplomatic mission." Dooku informed Lord Sidious. Due to the fact that both planets are located in the Outer Rim, the vote was unanimous to try to get the two planets to join the Confederacy - or at least, certain parts of the planet anyways, as both were currently divided into separate nations/countries. "I must say my master, this action may trigger a potential race of diplomacy with the Republic once they catch wind of this."

_"That is of no concern of mine at the current moment."_ Sidious replied coolly. _"What I am more interested in would be the disturbance in the Force I know you also felt a few months back."_

"Are you referring to 'The Ripple', my Lord?" Dooku asked, not looking up just yet. "Of course I have felt it, but what of it?"

_"I am eager to inform you that I have been told of the exact source of that power."_ Sidious's face stretched into a wicked grin from underneath his cloak. _"To make matters much more pleasant, the host of this untapped power is currently in its weakest form. With the Jedi not present on the planet of Elementia, I want you to retrieve it for me."_

It was obvious that the Sith Lord was very interested in this ancient child of the Dark Side, and wished to study it further to see if its creation can be replicated, as well as if it can be used for their own desires.

"How shall we go about this, my Lord?"

_"It would be unwise to do this job yourself,"_ Sidious said wisely, _"for it will only catch the unwanted attention of the Jedi. So, I want you to use more...discreet methods to cover our trail."_

"If that's the case, then I shall hire mercenaries to do the dirty work." Dooku nodded. "Their allegiance is only to those that pay them, and thus, a sufficient amount of credits will get the job done and keep their lips shut. It shall be done, my lord."

_"Very good, Tyranus. I expect to see my target in our hands soon enough."_

The holo transmission ended, which was followed by a few beeps. When Dooku pressed the button again, a list of data appeared in front of him, telling him the exact details of the planet, of the politics that was occuring, as well as the security detail for the planet.

Reading through the document, his eyes finally landed on the page that discussed the details of the target.

"Hmm, I see." Dooku nodded. After giving it some thought, he then pushed a few buttons, intending to contact a certain group of mercenaries, who, while not cheap, were qualified to get the job done...with one in particular who will be hired to lead the job.

* * *

**[Kamino, Tipoca City]**

Kamino is a planet known for its massive ocean. Of course, it wasn't always a planet without land. A long time ago, the planet of Kamino used to have lands and icebergs. However, time changes everything, and not always for the better. Climate change, which was brought on by natural occurrences and by pollution, had began to drown the land, eventually causing the natives to either flee...or adapt.

And adapt many did. The Kaminoans, who were the masters of science, refused to leave their planet, choosing instead to build cities that stood above the roaring ocean. One of these cities is called Tipoca City, where like the other cities, they would continue their path of science, eventually becoming masters of genetics and cloning.

Inside Tipoca City lived a mercenary, who made the wet city his home. This man was currently in his normal attire, which he normally wore underneath his armor.

The man's name was Jango Fett, and he was currently residing on Kamino to oversee a project that he agreed on with Tyranus for which he would be rewarded with a good amount of credits - as well as something else.

"Dad."

Jango looked to his left to see a young boy walk in. This young boy, who he regarded as his son, was actually his clone. An unaltered clone who, aside from his birth, grew up normally with no scientific modifications. Having the exact some curly, brown hair and having the exact same eyes as he once did, Boba Fett was certainly like his father.

"What is it, Boba?" Jango walked up to him, ruffling his hair. "Something on your mind?"

"It's almost lunchtime." Boba said. "You told me we'll be eating together for today. You promised."

Just before Jango could agree, his holotransmitter began to beep.

"Did I, huh? Alright, I was getting hungry anyways." Jango smirked, messing around with his son until he heard the beeping, and turned around to see the transmitter going off.

Boba, who was already by the door, turned his head around to see his dad walking over to the transmitter. "Dad, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, son. Just need to answer this." He replied, and picked up the small device. "Go to the canteen, I'll catch up to you."

"Okay." Boba frowned slightly as he walked through the door, leaving Jango alone once the door closed. Sighing at how little attention he was giving to his son, he answered the transmission.

_"Jango Fett."_

"Tyranus, I wasn't expecting you to call. Was about to go and eat now if you didn't mind."

_"Oh, I am not here to waste your time, my friend. I've contacted you because I need your extraordinary skills again to retrieve something. You heard of those new planets that were discovered?"_

"You mean what they call Elementia and Earth? Yeah, I heard about them. What gives?"

_"There's something on Elementia that I want you to retrieve."_ Tyranus/Dooku told him.

"What is it that you want me to retrieve from there?"

_"That I've already told your partner. Who I know for a fact you've worked with before."_ Tyranus brought up. _"A Clawdite bounty hunter who goes by the name Zam Wessel, if I'm not mistaken."_

_'Zam, of course she'd take the job.'_ Shaking his head, Jango replied, "That's her, yes."

_"This mission is one that requires stealth."_ Tyranus explained. _"These warriors are dangerous, fast, and not to be underestimated. That's why I hired her for her abilities so that she may have the best chance at infiltration. Her role is to make sure she retrieves the target with the help of a few other pirates I've employed."_

"Let me guess," Jango could already tell where this was going. "You want me to be there in case things go horribly wrong."

_"Yes, indeed."_ Tyranus nodded _"You'll be there to help her if things don't go as planned. If you succeed, you will be rewarded handsomely. That I can assure you."_

"How much?"

_"5, like last time."_

Jango fell into silence as he thought about taking the job. Work has been rather slow lately, especially when he was already swamped up with training the Clone Troopers. Plus, this was a good opportunity to check out the new planets, especially Elementia, due to his interest in them being "super soldiers." Plus, the pay was looking quite good; good enough where he might be able to retire from the business and focus on his other goals…

"Alright." Jango nodded. "I'll do it. I'll do the job."

_"Splendid."_ Tyranus smiled. _"Your friend is already on her way to Elementia. The target is inside of their hospital, which will be guarded heavily. Your friend will be disguised as a nurse there to make her final checks before the target will be discharged from the hospital. I suggest you move swiftly, since my sources say the target is planning to leave the village very soon."_

"And you're afraid this will be the only chance to capture this target." Jango guessed. "Am I correct?"

_"Yes, that's why we cannot risk him being seen by anyone."_ Tyranus explained. _"Luckily, the Republic has already has sent fresh supplies for medical and transport, giving you and Zam the opportunity to smuggle the target out of the planet without alerting the authorities."_

"If that's the case, I'll need to hire more muscle." Jango said, calculating his chances. "This ain't going to be an easy job, so I'll have to buy some favors."

_"Are you sure?"_ Tyranus raised his eyebrow. _"Failure cannot be an option."_

"Pay a little extra, and I promise you that won't happen."

_"... Very well then, the additional credits will be waiting for you when you succeed your mission. Tell me, who are going to hire?"_

"The same ones you were probably thinking of hiring, should I have rejected the offer." Jango replied a little cheekily. "If I were you, I'd be very generous on that extra."

Dooku looked a little miffed at having his mind read, but just sighed.

_"I will hear from you when the job is done."_

The hologram shrank out of existence as the transmission ended. Jango let out a big sigh as he saw the data appear on his device. Pushing the button, he began to read it.

"Dad."

Jango looked towards the door, and quickly deactivated the device. He saw it was his son Boba, who was carrying two trays of food on it.

"I thought instead of sitting in a big empty canteen, why not just eat here?" Boba gave a warm smile at his father while bringing the food to the table.

Not being able to stop the smile on his face, Jango put the device down, and took the time to eat with his son and have some quality father/son time. After a few minutes of light chatter, an idea suddenly popped into his head.

"Boba, what would you say if you wanted to come and join me on a trip I gotta go now?"

"Oh, where to?"

"That new planet, Elementia."

"Really? With who?"

* * *

Later that night

[Konoha - Hospital]

The sun had already set over Konoha, and the last examination for Naruto was about to take place. If he was well enough, he would be discharged from the hospital, and would go with Jiraiya to train with him for a few years.

"Everything is ready for Mr. Uzumaki's mental examination, ma'am." A nurse informed Shizune. "Inoichi Yamanaka will be arriving in the next hour, and Lady Hokage is on her way right now."

The two of them was walking through the nearly empty hallway, with the nurse pushing a hovering cart full of supplies.

"...You know, I still can't wrap my head around this new technology." The nurse finally stated. "I mean, it wasn't that long ago that we were still using carts with wheels!"

The two medics chuckled at that. It was indeed a strange transition, with the new supplies being the least weirdest thing they've seen and touched by far.

They eventually made it to Naruto's room, and stopped when they saw the commotion that was going on in there.

"I told you, I was ordered to bring in these supplies for the boy." A nurse was arguing with the ANBU guard.

"I told you ma'am, we need to see the paperwork that verifies your claim." One of the ANBU guards stated plainly. "Otherwise, we cannot let you in."

"What is going on here?" Shizune stepped up to the nurse. The nurse turned to look at her with a small frown.

"Ah, thank goodness you're here! I've been trying to get these supplies in for the past five minutes, but these guys won't let me in!"

Shizune looked at the floating cart the nurse was holding on to, then looked at the one by her side. Both were identical in the numbers of supplies, as well as the supplies themselves.

"I'm sorry, who are you again?"

"Oh! I'm June! June Saeki!" The nurse shook her hand. "I'm new here, and I'm so glad that I can work under you and Tsunade!"

To further prove her point, she fished out an ID card, which matched her photo perfectly.

"Well, it checks out." Shizune sighed. "Here, since it's your first time, I'm going to let this one go, alright? Just put it back in the Supply Room, and go to my office so that we can further discuss the error."

"Okay." The nurse looked downtrodden, obviously embarrassed at her mistake. "I'm sorry."

The nurse glumly pushed the cart away, her sighs seemingly echoing in the hallway.

"What an idiot." The nurse next to Shizune snorted. Shizune shot her a small glare, before she ordered her to take out the paperwork.

…

The door opened, and Naruto finally turned around.

"Oh hey Shizune." Naruto smiled, seeing his sister figure.

Shizune smiled at him. "Hello Naruto, how are you feeling?"

"Well, I'm hungry, that I can say." He said, giving her a sheepish grin while scratching the back of his head. "I really could use a cup of ramen right now."

Shizune and the nurse couldn't help but giggle about Naruto's comment, since he was being his usual self. The elderly nurse was one of the few medics who was actually fond of Naruto, since she was one of the few people that Hiruzen, the previous Hokage, had indulged her his secret, and was also his caretaker when he was an infant.

"You know the rules Naruto: No junk food for the next few days, especially stuff like ramen." Shizune waved a finger at him with a mock frown. "Try to eat more vegetables."

She then turned towards their cart, picking up an odd looking syringe. Naruto flinched at the sight of that.

"Sorry Naruto, we're going to need to do one last surgery before you're cleared to go." Shizune smiled, before grabbing Naruto's arm.

The other nurse frowned at that.

"Another surgery? I thought the boy was clear to leave tomorrow after the mental examination."

Shizune froze at that, the syringe inches away from his arm. Naruto tensed. Something was wrong.

SHLINK! ZAP!

Shizune suddenly stabbed the syringe into Naruto's arm, before she whipped her body around. With a flash of blue light, the elderly nurse fell over with her head hitting the wall, knocking her out unconscious.

"W-what's...going on?" Naruto's muffled voice, which was already beginning to die out, managed to say one last thing, before Naruto fell back. He struggled to stay awake, now knowing that something was wrong, but his eyelids were growing heavier.

And just like that, everything went dark.

…

Jango Fett scanned the hospital building across them from the rooftop. Thankfully for them, construction was still taking place there, and thus, there were only a few guards around the area for them to avoid.

He chewed his lip when he saw another round of those shinobi guards walk around the hospital. Despite their discipline, they were obviously still astounded by the new technology surrounding them, as evident by their heads turning occasionally to look at the new upgrades.

Shaking his head at them, he kneeled down and tapped his gloved finger on his helmet.

"Zam, do you hear me? Zam?"

_"Damn it Jango, yes, I can hear you." Zam cursed. "Kriff, you could've blown my cover."_

"Did you get the target?" Jango asked, uninterested for her complaints while looking at the hospital entrance. "Your team's gonna get noticed at some point, and we only have one distraction ready for you."."

_"I know, don't have to tell me twice. I'm going as fast as I can." Zam said, before she let out a quiet hiss. "I need to be quiet now, see you outside."_

And just like that, silence filled the air again, save for the footsteps that was headed towards Jango from the back.

"Pff, she's still got a lot to learn." The second best bounty hunter in the galaxy snorted.

This bounty hunter, unlike Jango, was not a human, but rather, a Duros. With breathing tubes installed to his face and a large hat on his bald, blue head, this bounty hunter rivaled Jango in terms of skill and ruthlessness.

The two of them weren't enemies per say, but they weren't friends either. Instead, their relationship has developed into more of a semi-friendly rivalry, where the two of them would compete for reputation, credits, and overall skill.

"Are you sure she can do the job without alerting the whole place?"

"Zam can handle herself." Jango replied, briefly glancing back at his hired partner before looking back at the hospital. "Besides, my employee hired her for her abilities. I didn't get a say about it."

"Hmm." Cad Bane mused as he took another look around their surroundings, this time paying attention to the primitive village itself. "You know, if the rumors about the natives are true, then I suppose it makes sense to why even you felt the need to hire a crew. These natives remind me an awful lot of your old stories you used to talk about, do they not?"

Cad Bane was one of the many that respected Jango for not just his skills, but for his heritage as a Mandalorian warrior. Only a few in the galaxy did not know about the tales of the Mandalorian warriors, and how the wars they've waged devastated the galaxy. While they lacked the connection to the Force the Jedi and the Sith held, they made up for that with technology, ingenuity, and their ruthlessness. While their numbers had thinned out, their reputation hasn't. Cad Bane was one of the lucky few who has ever met a warrior such as Jango, and has not only lived to tell the tale, but was also perhaps the only one who have heard stories from the said warrior as well.

"Mmhm." Jango then went silent for a minute, until-

"Look, they're coming out."

The hospital doors were pushed open, and a group of Weequay pirates, disguised as cargo workers, stepped out of the hospital, pushing a large medical pod out of the building. They were playing as a Republic transport crew, whose original role was to deliver the latest supplies and technology for the hospital. Normally, the sight of nonhumans would've attracted more attention, but at this point, the Republic has been in and out of the primitive village, which also meant introducing more races. Sure, the less human they looked, the more stares they got, but Jango could tell that the xenophobia was beginning to diminish.

"And here goes phase two of the plan." Jango muttered to his rival, watching as a female "human" followed the the weequays. "I just hope those pirates don't start any problems."

"You're telling me." Cad Bane glared at the entrance. "We've already spent too much time here. Let's just hope your lady friend didn't make a mistake."

…

Shizune nodded at a few nurses, who eyed the weequays and the blanketed pod with some confusion and suspicion. Luckily for them, this was enough to get the nurses off of their backs.

Feeling rather uncomfortable at the number of stares of suspicion, she silently ordered the team to hurry it up a little, which they wholeheartedly agreed with. They took a right turn towards the exit, but then got noticed by two shinobi, who just happened to stop by at the hospital.

"Was that Shizune?" Anko Mitarashi asked. "She looks a bit stressed."

"Maybe she's just worried for Naruto." Kakashi said, staring at the leaving group. "Let's just wait for her at her office."

"Right…" Anko hesitantly shrugged it off. While she knew that it was best to not interrupt Shizune on her medical business, especially when looking stressed like that, something didn't sit right with her. For one, it wasn't any of the nurses that was helping her move the pod, but rather, some weird, alien guys that was just there to help transport the supplies. Then there was the fact that she was moving a "medical pod" (which, by the way, really looked like a glass coffin if you asked her) at all, which, if she remembered correctly, wasn't part of her schedule.

CRASH!

Anko's thoughts were interrupted when Kakashi kicked down Shizune's door. She ran up to him, a kunai already in her hands.

"Shit." Kakashi cursed, staring inside of Shizune's office. Anko went to look, and froze at the sight of Shizune's body, tied up, gagged, and nearly nude, desperately trying to crawl out of her closet.

"That wasn't Shizune we just saw earlier, Kakashi." Anko gritted her teeth, before dashing out of the room.

"What's going on?" The nurse had just walked inside of the office, hearing the commotion. She gasped when she saw Shizune's battered form. "I-I don't understand-"

"Find Lady Hokage and warn her we've got an intruder." Kakashi ordered her. "The intruder took on Shizune's form, and just walked out of the hospital with a group of aliens and a medical pod. And put a lockdown on the hospital, now!" He ordered, before following Anko.

* * *

"Shizune" and her team were walking towards a landing pad, where a group of ships and the forest would cover their escape. Just outside of the landing pad, hiding at the edge of the forest, was a large, long speeder that had another speeder pod in the back for additional passengers, which was chained to the pilot pod with a singular plasma chain. This would be Zam and her group's getaway vehicle so that they could make it to the Slave I and the weequays' G9 Rigger-class light freighter, which they "borrowed" from the Republic transporters.

Since the landing pad was still under construction, the Republic couldn't give the village any large ships yet. That's why they had to use small freighters and such to deliver supplies and men. The training grounds, which was already full of small ships for delivering materials for construction, wasn't available for the Republic's latest supply deliver, so they had to land in the surrounding forest, where a small area was cleared for them.

That was the opening they needed. The minute the ship's doors were opened, the team ambushed both the shinobi and the Republic men.

The shinobi, despite being picked off by their sniper, still put up a deadly fight, managing to wipe out half of their men and injuring a few others, before Jango, Bane, and their sniper took care of the rest.

"Double-time it guys. We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Shizune?" Someone said her name and the woman turned around to see a woman and two girls walking towards her. The one who was almost her age had black untamed hair, strange red colored eyes that looked like rings and she wore a strange outfit that resembled like bandages or something. The smaller girl was weirder, she had blue short hair and creepy looking eyes to her view and wore a coat while it wasn't even cold and the weirdest what she saw was the last girl who had almost flower like pinkish hair and emerald green looking eyes. Seriously what is it with this place with weird clothing and eye colors?

"Shizune?"

Every single one of them froze as someone called out for the imposter's name. They turned around and saw a full grown woman alongside of two teenage girls walking behind her. The woman, which looked about her age, had black, untamed hair, with strange red eyes that surprisingly suited her well. Her outfit seemed to consist of purely bandages, which did wonders to show off her nice figure.

Then there was the two girls, who were equally strange on their own. The one with the short, blue hair was wearing a rather thick jacket, despite the weather not being very cold. Their attention, however, rested mostly on her eyes, which was milky white. First glance, they thought she was blind, until they realized that she was staring directly at them, which was rather unusual.

Finally, there was the pink-haired girl. Aside from her unusual hair color, there wasn't anything remarkable about her, and overall, she seemed to be the least dangerous of them all.

"I didn't know you were scheduled to help these men move the supplies back to the ship." Kurenai commented, glancing at the blanketed pod.

"W-well, you know the Republic," "Shizune" chuckled nervously. "Them and their additions to our village really works us to the bone."

"But weren't you given some time off after Naruto's exam?" Kurenai asked.

Each group was growing progressively tense. Kurenai and the other two girls couldn't help but notice just how tense the workers and Shizune looked, almost as if they stumbled onto something they should've have.

Hinata, no longer feeling shy around the foreigners, glared as she activated her Byakugan. She glanced at Shizune, and her eyes widened.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata took out her kunai. "That's not Shizune!"

That's when all hell broke loose.

…

"Shit, they've been compromised!" Jango muttered. "Bane!"

"Way ahead of you." The Duro bounty hunter smirked as he pushed a button on his gauntlet.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The village fell into chaos as buildings and trees suddenly exploded. The dense forest began to rapidly catch on fire as the bombs did their job on creating as much fire as possible.

"Time to help out our crew." Jango said, before he activated his jetpack.

Cad Bane smirked, glancing once at the chaos they had just caused.

"This is where the fun begins." He cackled, before he activated his rocket-boots.

…

"Come on, Sakura, you can do this." The pink kunoichi's forehead began to glisten in sweat as she concentrated. Her palms began to glow green, and the blaster-burn on Hinata's shoulder began to heal.

The minute Hinata loudly declared that "Shizune" was an imposter, one of workers pulled out a blaster, and fired at Kurenai. She dodged it, but Hinata ended up taking the bolt to the shoulder. Sakura quickly dragged her out of the line of fire behind some metal boxes while Kurenai covered their retreat, throwing kunai and senbon at them.

However, "Shizune" ended up throwing down a couple of bombs. One of them exploded, causing their ears to ring from the explosion while also destroying a good part of the landing port. The other was a smoke grenade, albeit one that also caused them to cough and caused their eyes to burn.

Hinata groaned as he rubbed her eyes, the smoke grenade making her eyes burn. Despite this, however, she kept her Byakugan on, determined to remain the eyes of the group.

She noticed that just a few meters into the forest were two odd looking vehicles. She knew that they were vehicles, because she similar ones being introduced to the village by the Republic. She also knew that it was their vehicle, due to it always floating off the ground, and how it had a powerful source of energy to always be running.

But that's not what got her attention. No, her attention was on the pod they were so adamant on stealing. For one, it was a living, breathing being that was stuck in the pod. Two, that being was a human, and had chakra.

'No.' Hinata froze as she just realized who the person in the pod was.

"That's-"

"HINATA!"

She felt someone grab her by her stomach, before she went up in the air.

She looked up, and saw that it was Kurenai, who was also carrying Sakura in her other arm as she leapt to safety.

"Hit it!"

BOOM! BOOM!

Two more detonators were thrown in the area that the kunoichi were just in. Kurenai, who saw this coming, took her fellow kunoichi out of there in time. Twisting in midair, she managed to dodge a couple of blaster shots and some shrapnel.

As they fell back down to the ground, they managed to see the final moments before the criminals got away on their vehicle.

Inside of those speeders sat the person who impersonated as Shizune. Still in the medic's clothing, they cringed at the sight of "Shizune's" face melting, until it turned into one that resembled a humanoid lizard. She glanced at them with a smirk, before the speeder took off.

Kurenai bit her lip, and they landed on the ruined spaceport.

"What the hell just happened?" Sakura breathed, the shock finally coming to an end. Despite this, she trembled as the adrenaline still flowed through her veins, the effects of the unexpected battle still rattling her.

Kurenai put down the two younger kunoichi and checked on them. "Sakura, are you alright?"

"Y-Yes, sensei." Sakura stuttered at first, before swallowing it in. "I'm alright."

"Move it!"

They snapped out of the conversation as Konoha shinobi entered the ruined landing port. Some of them stood around the kunoichi, checking in on them and asking them questions while the others continued into the forest, no doubt chasing the criminals they had just barely survived against.

One of the shinobi that stood above them was Anko, who tugged on Kurenai's shoulder. "Come on, Kurenai, we gotta move, now!"

"What abou-"

"The real Shizune's fine. The nurses are tending to her." Anko informed her. "But we gotta chase the intruders, now!" Anko then left them, chasing after the foreign criminals.

"Right! The genjutsu user nodded, before she looked up at Kakashi. "I'll leave them to you."

The one-eyed shinobi nodded, and then the Genjutsu Mistress disappeared. He looked back down at the two girls below him, and took out some water for the Hyuga, whose eyes and throat were still burning from the smoke.

"Sakura."

"Kakashi-sensei, what's going on?"

"No time to explain." Kakashi helped the two up, giving Hinata his water. "Get Hinata inside now, that's an order! The ANBU here will escort you two." He said, before running after the criminals..

Picking her up, Sakura began bringing Hinata inside the hospital. "Come on, Hinata. Let's get you inside."

Coughing a few more times, Hinata was finally able to let out a whisper.

"Sakura."

"Hm?" Sakura turned to her. "What is it, Hinata?"

"I need to tell you something." Hinata rasped. "What I saw in that pod..."

"The medical pod? What about it?"

* * *

The speeder hummed loudly as the weequay that was driving it put it to full speed. While he didn't look like it, he was an expert driver, and drove the speeder through the trees with precision, not once even scratching their vehicle on a rock or a tree.

"Poodoo!" Zam cursed as she saw the shinobi running after them in inhuman speed. She pulled out her blaster, but nearly fell over as the pirate made a sudden turn.

"Hey, slow down!" Zam yelled at the driver. "We don't want to crash!"

"If I went any slower, those backwater bastards are gonna git us!" The Weequay spat back. He glanced back at the people that was chasing then, and shivered at their black robes and masks, which showed no emotion at all, and helped them blend in the shadows.

THUNK!

Something just hit the inside of the speeder. They looked, and their eyes widened at the sight of a small knife sticking out of the pod's metal shell.

THUNK! THUNK! SHLINK! SHLINK! SHLINK!

"URK!" The second they discovered the first knife, a hail of metal followed it. The 4 weequays were fortunate enough to either dodge it completely, or have it hit them in the shoulders/arms. One of them, however, wasn't so fortunate, and fell over, revealing a kunai knife buried in the back of his head.

"Oh shit!" Zam cried out. "Brace for impact!"

The speeder, which was now without a driver, collided into a tree. The metal pods flew in the air, twisting helplessly, before it crashed onto the ground, with its passengers falling painfully onto the dirt.

"We got them!" The ANBU cried out. "Stay right where you-ACK!"

The masked man that was talking fell over as he clutched at his throat.

"What the-?" The other ANBU members managed to say, before they were gunned them by blaster fire.

A roar echoed the air as two men flew down from below, firing their blasters at the cloaked men. The survivors had to retreat behind the trees, waiting for the right moment to retaliate.

"Jango!"

"Go!" Jango yelled at them. "You've got the package. Get to the ships! We'll cover you!"

Zam nodded, before she and the surviving weequays took off.

"NO!" An ANBU member ran across the battlefield, intending to stop them from taking the pod.

FWOOM!

"AHHH!" The minute he ran out of the cover, Cad Bane was already onto him, firing his flamethrower at the man.

POOF!

Cad Bane stopped the moment he saw the black silhouette disappear from the sea of flames. The minute his flamethrower stopped, he realized that he had just charred a log.

POW! POW!

Cad Bane looked to his right, and saw that Jango had shot a kunai midair that was meant for the blue mercenary's jugular. He had also blasted the ANBU that threw the knife, with the body now falling back to the ground.

"Expect the unexpected." Jango warned him, before he fired a few more shots to keep them at bay.

"We need to move." Bane just growled, frustrated that Jango saved his life...again. Without looking, he shot an ANBU member that tried to sneak up from behind him.

"Agreed." Jango nodded, throwing some more bombs at the trees.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The unlucky shinobi members, both ANBU and others alike, were caught in the explosion, shrapnel of wood and dirt piercing their bodies. The luckier ones managed to see the bombs in time, getting out of the way.

…

_Her ears rang endlessly as the world seemed to explode around her._

_Blaster shots, explosions, shouting, shrapnel raining from the air, it barely registered to her as she tried to open her eyes._

_Someone was shouting at someone. Were they shouting to her? The ANBU agent didn't know._

_She tried to get up, and fell down with a muffled yell. Her leg was on fire, needles twisting into her nerves as she put too much weight into her left leg._

_Broken. Her leg was broken. Or maybe just injured. She didn't want to know._

_CLUNK. CLUNK. CLUNK._

_She heard something land near her slowly, as if time slowed down as someone dropped their pen. Her eyes, which was partially exposed from behind her broken mask, looked at the source of the noise._

_It was that same, shiny metal ball with glowing, red lights. It had landed near her, and it was beginning to beep._

_'Shit.' Her drowsy mind managed to think. 'Ah well, I lived a good life.'_

_The fallen ANBU shinobi closed her eyes as she accepted her fate._

And suddenly, she felt warm. Opening her eyes, she realized that she was in the arms of another shinobi.

BOOM!

The explosion, which was still muffled like everything else, erupted in the background, and she could briefly see the small ball of fire and shrapnel erupt from behind her savior.

"-ou alright?"

She blinked, and suddenly, her hearing was beginning to return. After a few seconds, she realized that her savior, Asuma Sarutobi, was trying to speak to her.

"Y-yeah." She croaked, her throat now dry. "Never been better."

The ANBU heard some rapid footsteps from behind the chainsmoker.

"You guys took your time." Asuma grunted. "What's the status of the village? Do we have any backup?"

"The fires are spreading out of control, so the Hokage has ordered half of all units to evacuate the civilians and to help put out the fire." Gai noted. "The other half is trying to catch these slimy criminals."

He looked at the direction of the mercenaries, only to see that they have used what can be assumed to be their last smoke grenades throughout the forest. He cursed when he saw black smoke intermingling with the white ones, indicating that they also chose to light the surrounding vegetation on fire.

"Kakashi, can you round up all of the injured into one area? You can use your genjutsu to help shield them from harm, if needed."

"Right." The masked shinobi nodded, before he began to gather the wounded.

Asuma then looked at the rest of his team.

"Time's ticking, people. We need to capture the criminals, but our top priority is rescuing Naruto. Let's move!"

"Right!"

* * *

"Just a little bit further!" Zam yelled, throwing over her shoulder the last smoke grenade she had on her. "Just gotta make it to the cliff, then our ride can pick us up!"

The weequays, who looked morally and physically battered, seemed reenergized when they realized just how close they were to escaping, as well as finishing the job.

"Those sons of bitches will pay for killing J'han and the others!" One of them growled, his grip on his blaster growing tighter.

"Another time." Zam assured him. "In the meantime, we gotta get the hell out of here."

"Yeah, we can't afford to-GAH!" One of the weequays was suddenly snatched up by something thin, yet something large. "Get it off! Get it off!"

Before they could do or say anything, he was suddenly pulled away into the bushes, blaster fire flying everywhere.

"No time! Keep going!" Zam shouted, albeit reluctantly. The other weequays looked hesitant, but agreed nonetheless.

POW!

A single blaster shot came from in front of them, and suddenly, the weequay's cries were silenced. Preparing their blasters, they stopped their trigger fingers when they saw it was Cad Bane, who merely scowled at them in challenge.

"If he squeals, we could be done for." He growled. "Come on, don't end up like him!"

The weequays all glared at his back, but said and did nothing, choosing to continue to run with their package, occasionally firing back to fend off their pursuers.

Jango sighed at this, shaking his head.

POW! POW!

He aimed his pistol upwards, and another dead shinobi fell from the sky.

Just then, his helmet-visor began to flash a signal.

"We're almost there, guys!" Jango assured them. "My ship's close. Come on!"

They let out a small, half-hearted cheer at that, which grew louder as they finally stepped out of the dense forest. Stumbling, they nearly stopped themselves from accidentally tossing themselves over the cliff and into the river below.

"Wow." Zam whistled, staring at the cliffs they were standing on. They realized that the cliff they were standing on, as well as the one on the other side, was carved to resemble two warriors. That, on top of the natural beauty the place had to offer, rivaled Naboo on its natural beauty.

The others were either glaring into the forest, or joining Zam on admiring the scenery.

But not Jango. No, Jango was staring at one of the weequays amongst them, who was nervously looking at the forest.

"Jango?" Zam asked, noticing his odd behavior.

ZAP!

The weequay shrieked as he fell over, being hit by one of Jango's stun bolts.

"Fett?" One of the weequays growled. "What the hell are you-?"

"Just as I thought." The Mandalorian muttered, staring at the body.

POOF!

The fallen "weequay" suddenly exploded into a small cloud, revealing one of the ANBU guards, who was holding a blaster. Jango snorted, before walking over to the unconscious body.

"This is why we Mandos have been able to go toe-to-toe with the Jedi for so many years." He grunted, kicking the blaster towards the weequays while holding the shinobi up by his armpits. "We adapt, we grow, we change, we upgrade. This," He tapped on his helmet. "Is how I figured out he was an imposter. This guy's image was flickering, since my helmet detected an unusual frequency of energy off of him. Granted, all of these guys seem to have it, but this guy's presence was so close and powerful, my helmet started freaking out."

He then held up the shinobi, pointing his blaster right up to his temple.

"I know you guys are out there. If you guys try anything stupid, you'll lose another one of your men."

Silence filled the air for the moment, and Zam wondered if their pursuers backed off.

Then, a few figures stepping out of the forest. It was the bandaged woman again, but now with a purple-haired lady in a fishnet outfit and a trench coat, a bearded, scruffy looking man, and a man with a bowl haircut and some really thick looking eyebrows.

"Okay, okay, just don't kill him." The bearded man said. "I know that things are looking bad, but please, maybe we can work something out."

"We already have what we came for." Jango's voice was surprisingly soft and non hostile. "I'm sorry for all of this, but this is just a job. It's nothing personal."

Asuma narrowed his eyes at the armored warrior.

"I'm going to assume that you won't be answering much questions about your 'job,'" The Sarutobi said, "but can you at least tell us what the client wants from Naruto?"

"Naruto?" Kurenai asked, before her eyebrows shot up. "Wait, Asuma, you're telling me that Naruto's in the pod?!"

"Yeah, he is." Asuma nodded. "Sakura managed to tell me that Hinata saw Naruto inside that pod when she used her Byakugan."

Anko and Kurenai tensed up at this. On top of everything else these criminals had done, kidnapping a fellow shinobi was now added to the list.

"Is that what the target's called?" Jango said, glancing at the pod momentarily. "If that's the case, then I now have a name to call him when I deliver him."

The Mandalorian then squinted in thought.

_'Come to think of it, I'm not sure why out of all the data, his name wasn't included. That actually made the job a little harder.'_

"You know, as one warrior to another, I'm rather impressed. Your men actually gave me a rather hard time during this entire mission. Reminds me of when I fought the Jedi. Except unlike them, you guys are much faster, slightly less predictable, and much more ruthless."

Anko cracked her knuckles. "Wait until I begin with you when I bring you in for interrogation. Then I show you how ruthless I can be."

"Temping," Jango chuckled, liking this woman's attitude, "But I'm afraid that'll have to wait for another time. Still got a job to finish."

"Yeah, not gonna happen, buddy." Asuma pulled out his trench knives, which made the others tighten their trigger fingers. "We don't abandon our fellow comrades. That's not our way."

Jango's eyes scanned the other shinobis's eyes, and noted the determination in their eyes, despite the grim situation.

"I see…" Despite the situation, Jango smiled under his helmet. It would seem like these people were more like his old family than he thought.

He looked down to his wrist gauntlet and saw that its light was flickering. "You guys might want to back off at this point." Jango warned.

"Like Hell we are!" Anko growled, taking a step forward.

"Anko!"

But the Snake-Mistress of Konoha wouldn't listen. Yelling, she prepared to charge at the kidnappers, ready to buy them the necessary distraction they needed to try to save both the hostage and the boy.

VOOM!

The loud, sudden roar made everyone freeze in their tracks.

"About time." Jango muttered. Appearing from behind the cliff was the_ Slave I_, Jango's newest ship ever since his old one _Jaster's Legacy_ was destroyed, ironically by a ship of the same model as his current one. Even without looking, he knew that Boba and his temporarily guardian was watching over them.

PEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEW!

Jango's ship rained fire onto the shinobi alongside of the bounty hunters, forcing them to retreat in to the forest. Despite this, they chose to not take a chance, and resumed firing into the trees, making sure that they kept a far enough distance.

BOOM!

One of the blasts nearly blew Anko into bits as she flew forwards. She painfully collided with a tree, knocking her out once she hit the floor.

The ship began to lower itself as its doors opened.

"Let's go." Cad Bane ordered. "Into the ship!"

Zam and the weequays were the first to enter the ship, while Cad Bane and Jango made sure to cover them, as the shinobi have returned, desperate to retrieve their comrade. However, with the ship and the blaster fire keeping them at bay, as well as the hostage Jango was still securing, they was not much they could do.

"Let's go, Jango!"

"Right!" The Mandalorian nodded at Zam. Shoving the hostage away from him, he activated his jetpack to fly himself backwards into his ship. Just before the doors closed, however, he saw Asuma's jacket, which was one that some of the shinobi of the village shared. For the first time ever, he truly looked at the green jacket - or rather, the symbol on his sleeves. It was a symbol that he knew. It was a symbol once mentioned by his old comrades, before they fell to the Jedi.

It was a whirlpool. A blood, red whirlpool.

Zam ran up and yanked his arm. "Come on, Jango! Move your ass!"

Snapped out of his thoughts, he retreated into his ship, leaving behind a few devastated Konoha shinobi, who could do nothing but stare helplessly at the floating ship in the sky.

* * *

**[On top of the Hokage Building]**

"I want all shinobi to be alerted that the village has been attacked." Tsunade, whose hands were gripping the metal fences tightly. "Contact the Republic at once. Finish rounding up the survivors, and make sure all the wounded gets medical attention."

She then turned to the remaining ANBU members.

"I want the Inuzuka Clan and the Aburame Clan to send a scout team for more potential intruders, as well as to sniff out any more bombs or other possible traps in the area. If you find any of them, I want them in Ibiki's hands alive!"

"Yes, ma'am!" They saluted, before they disappeared."

"As for the rest of you," Tsunade turned to the rest of the active shinobi. "I want you all to double all guards, double everything! Make sure nothing like this happens again!"

"Yes ma'am!" The ANBU commander answered, before he swiftly disappeared, leaving behind the head nurse of the Konoha hospital.

"Status report."

"My lady," The elder nurse bowed. "We've brought in all the wounded to the hospital, but we're running out of room, so we created a temporary field hospital to clear room for the recently wounded who were brought in."

"Shizune?" Tsunade asked about her apprentice.

"She has already recovered from the experience, and is already on her feet helping the others."

"Good…" Tsunade said, staring blankly at her village. "You're dismissed."

"Yes ma'am." The elder nurse bowed, before swiftly leaving the building, leaving the Hokage on her own.

Tsunade closed her eyes as she tried to not let tears pool out of them. After being told about the situation, she was beginning to wonder if things would've been better off if the Republic never found them. Sure, perhaps it was inevitable, since they "felt" the Kyuubi's chakra.

...No, it didn't matter now. She just lost Naruto, one of her only family members she had left, and she wasn't sure who was to blame.

With the Republic arrival, the mighty ship sailing into the new world bringing new people, also came the vermin with it. She had already heard rumors about bounty hunters, smugglers, and all other types of scum already setting into the new world, and she suddenly began to wonder just how often that kind of thing happened.

With an angry roar, she ripped out the metal railings, throwing them onto the floor of the Hokage Tower roof. She then collapsed onto her knees as she began to punch the floor, bursting into tears as she tried to hold back audible sobs.

Tsunade, who was now drowning in her grief, did not notice Jiraiya entering the roof. Watching her cry made him clench his fist.

_'Kami damn it.' _He looked away from the blonde, afraid that she would be able to smell his guilt._ 'I was too late.'_

He had heard all about what had just happened. Criminals - or were they mercenaries? - had come from space, and had kidnapped Naruto. Why? He had no idea, but he would be damned if he did nothing to try to find his godson.

It would seem like ages before he finally had the courage to step out. Walking up to his old teammate, he expected her to punch him, to wail on him about him being too late.

Tsunade finally noticed him walking up to her, and stood up. A dark look spread across her face as she walked up to him, her fists clenched.

_'Whatever happens, I deserve it.'_ He thought bitterly, closing his eyes in resignation.

Imagine his surprise when she enveloped him with a hug. Tsunade, who he had thought would've punched him across the village, had hugged him instead, sobbing into his shoulder at the loss of another family member.

Closing his eyes, he decided to hug her back, knowing full well that she needed this. And honestly, he did too.

"As long as we can still feel his bond with us, he is still alive."

Jiraiya sighed and looked up, to the sky and hoping what Fukasaku said was true, that as long Naruto's name remained on the contract, he'd be still alive.

Jiraiya sighed as he looked up into the sky, hoping that what Fukasaku said was true.

_'Hold on, kid, we're coming for you. I promised your father and mother that I'll look after you, even if its the last thing I do.'_

* * *

**[On board the Slave I]**

Jango's ship had already left the orbit of Elementia, and inside of it were the remaining mercenaries.

The remaining weequays and Zam were grabbing a bite or a drink, a little shaken up at how the job almost went completely sideways, even with the help of Jango and Cad Bane.

Cad Bane on the other hand was staring at the unopened pod with the target in what was worth his credits "Hey, Zam."

Cad Bane was not amongst them, instead just chewing on a toothpick while staring at the unopened pod.

"Hey, Zam."

Zam stopped drinking as she looked at the duros. "What?"

"The soldier we snatched up is still alive, right? We need him breathing to get our money."

Zam huffed at the silent accusation. "No you blue prick, I just sedated him."

She glanced at the floating pod with a smirk.

"I injected him with enough anaesthetics to knock out any healthy adult for a good week or so. Even for an active duty superpowered soldier like him, he shouldn't get up for a while. Why, wanna check if he's still alive?"

"...No." Cad Bane grunted, turning to walk away. "Just wanted to check if you were worth your salt." He then walked to have a chat with Jango.

…

Jango was sitting in the cockpit alongside his son. Punching in the coordinates for their meeting point, he sent his ship into hyperspace. With that being done, he then laid back in his chair, now lost in thought.

_'That whirlpool...where have I seen it before?'_ Jango wondered, doing his best to try to remember where he could've seen or heard about the symbol.

"Dad?"

Jango turned to his son, who looked at him with slight concern.

"Are you okay?"

He just nodded at his son, before the sound of someone walking up to him grabbed his attention.

"Hey." A pale woman wrapped her arms around Jango's neck. "Impressive work out there."

"Aurra." Jango greeted, not even bothering to turn his head at the woman. "Thanks for watching over Boba and the ship."

"I better get some decent credits out of all this." Aurra purred into his ear. "I missed out on all the fun babysitting your son."

"Don't lie, I know you managed to clip one of the shinobis while we were boarding the ship." Jango smirked at her, to which she just shrugged.

"Save the romance for later." Another voice echoed the cockpit. Cad Bane walked in, glaring at the two other bounty hunters. "Let's just focus on getting to our destination."

"Right." Jango sighed, before leaning over to the controls. They fell out of hyperspace, and Jango had to make another calculation to get to their destination, since the first jump was to help cover their tracks.

Within seconds, the ship disappeared from view, leaping into hyperspace once more.

**And here it begins people! Naruto abducted, Konoha attacked and Jango appeared! Ain't gonna lie to ya'll that this took a long time to update now I was excited to hear that next month the new season Clone Wars is going to be released.**

**I'll be working on some of the other stories, one of whom is been growing good lately (this one too of course, love that this reboot happened) Anyway, hope all of you have a good night. Oh, please leave reviews!**

**Peace!**


	4. Ölüm - The Red Grave

**AU From LW and AL **

**[BD]**

**1\. Yes, we understand the timeline is busted, but for one, it's fanfiction. Don't think about it too much. Also, the timeline was gonna be busted anyways, given how we're going to add Hera and Sabine. The original, which by the way, AL thanks you very much for appreciating, already had a somewhat of a busted timeline due to, again, Sabine and Hera. **

**2\. Yeah, the Republic and the Jedi are being hypocritical. What a surprise, am I right? **

**3\. Chakra sensors are incredible rare in the shinobi world, and even they have to be actively using their ability to sense something wrong. Sure, there's the Hyuga and the Uchiha, but the Uchiha are pretty much gone, and Sasuke's chakra is sealed so that he doesn't run off. The Hyuga are kept to themselves, so there's that. **

**3\. And then you gotta consider the fact that the crew focused mainly on retreating. Even Jango and Cad Bane were running for their lives the entire time. They purposely divided the shinobi via destruction and chaos, which meant less pursuers for the entire team. As calculated, most of them were too focused on evacuating the civilians and the wounded, and the handful that noticed them were being fended off with bombs and blaster shots, which the bounty hunters spammed to keep them at bay. The actual numbers of shinobi they managed to kill was only a few, and those were lucky kills. **

**(About the Child Soldier Hypocrisy) **

**The last few chapters took place before the Clone Wars, but after _The Phantom Menace_. Also, Padme didn't have much choice when fighting during the events of the _TPM_. **

**(The Harem)**

**Yeah, I kinda wanted to tell myself, but the author said no, so too bad, so sad. On the plus side, at least you'll always be on your toes, wondering who'll be the lucky guy/girl that'll be in his harem. **

**… **

**LW: I hope that satisfies your questions for now. Onto the story! **

**Also, just a heads up, the next few chapters are gonna get pretty dark, which involves slavery and abuse of many kinds. **

* * *

**[?]**

Danzo Shimura, to be blunt, was not what you would call a "good person." He himself admitted to that many times when he woke up, staring at himself in the mirror with the "prizes" he collected over the years.

Still, one never achieved great things by being a pacifist. One never achieved great things without kicking up some dust and cracking a few eggs. One never achieved great things without making some sacrifices.

_'Everything I do is for the sake of the village.'_ That happened to be Danzo's motto, as well as the justification for everything he has done. From starting wars in an effort to destroy the rivaling villages, to kidnapping children to build up his ROOT army, he has done many things that, from time to time, would make Danzo feel slightly guilty.

_'Besides,'_ He walked up to the large holotransceiver in the middle of the room. _'There's no turning back.'_

He pushed a few buttons, and waited for the message to come through. After almost a minute of waiting, a large hologram sprouted from the machine.

_"I assume that the plan was a success."_ The old, cloaked man spoke to Danzo.

"You would be correct, Lord Sidious." Danzo nodded. "I do hope that you would fulfill your end of the bargain once you get what you need from the boy. I have taken many risks to help make this day happen."

_"Of course I will, Danzo."_ The Lord of the Sith nodded in return. _"We would both benefit from this project of ours. I learn more about the secrets of chakra, and you would get your army of Uzumaki clones, as well as the boy himself, reconditioned to your liking." _

"And I would continue to search for any more force-sensitives on this planet." Danzo finished.

_"Precisely."_ Sidious smiled, showing his yellow teeth. _"I'm glad we are on the same page. Now, if you excuse me, I must get going._"

And with that, the holotransmission ended, leaving Danzo alone in the intelligence room with his ROOT guards. After a minute of silence, he turned and left the room.

* * *

**[Mos Eisley, Tatooine]**

If one talked about planets outside of the reach of the Republic, Tatooine is often the first planet that comes to mind.

Once a planet full of oceans and rainforests, it is now a husk of its former self, the planet now being known for being a hot, barren wasteland, as well as the poverty and corruption that goes on there.

It's also known for Jabba the Hutt being the tyrannical ruler of the planet, with his influence and power being so great that even the Republic does nothing about his open presence there.

Mos Eisley was one of the few cities that existed in the wasteland, especially one that had a few spaceports. It was a city full of scumbags in many forms. Bounty hunters, smugglers, fugitives, slave traders, they all roamed free in this city, with murder and sometimes even rape being very common in the city.

Overall, much like the planet itself, it was pretty much a lawless land.

Inside of Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina, Jango and his team were busy killing time by getting some food and drinks while waiting for Dooku's goons to arrive with their money. It was easy to say that some of them were already under the alcohol's influence.

This was scene by the four remaining weequays, who were clearly drunk out of their minds. They were sitting on the other side of the bar, due to some Twi'lek dancers giving them some sultry looks and poses. They were already trying to suck them dry of their credits, which was witnessed by Jango, Boba, Aurra Sing, and Cad Bane.

Zam volunteered to stay behind at the ship to guard it. After all, you can't ever be too careful in Tatooine.

"Morons." Cad Bane glared at the weequays, disgusted at their behavior. "At this rate, we'll have to drag them back to the ship alongside our credits."

"My my, Bane," Aurra chuckled at the duros. "Since when were you concerned about the wellbeings of others?"

"I'm not." Cad Bane growled at her. "I just don't want them attracting more attention to us than we already have." He eyed some of the patrons, who immediately looked away from them. "The last thing I want is that idiot Greedo to notice us if he's here."

"Seriously?" Jango turned to him. "Out of all the bounty hunters in this galaxy, you're concerned about Greedo?"

"He's a slippery bastard." Cad Bane growled, as he did not like the Rodian very much. "Always a pain in our asses."

Boba turned to his dad. "What does he mean, dad?"

Aurra just laughed, tapping on Boba's head. "Nothing for you to worry about, Boba. Just drink your milk and be a good boy." She teased the boy while drinking her glass.

Boba glared at her lightly, before feeling someone tap on his shoulder. He looked up at his dad, and saw her nod at her.

"You'll learn soon, Boba. I promise you that."

Boba smiled at his father and nodded back at him. "Right."

Just then, a small beeping sound erupted from their table. They all checked their communication devices, and found that it came from Aurra.

Answering her com, she received a quick transmission that ended swiftly.

"So?

"They've arrived."

"Where?" Cad Bane asked, eager to finish this job.

"They just send me the coordinates." Aurra replied, putting her device back into her pocket. "It's not that far from here."

"Where?" Jango was the next to ask.

"The Center Port, the big one that never finished construction." That wasn't far from their current location, just a few blocks down the road.

"Okay, we'll go there." Jango said turning to his son. "Boba."

"Yeah, dad?"

"...Stay close to me." Jango finally said, making Boba's eyes widen. "Keep aware of your surroundings, and always be ready for your blaster."

"O-okay" Boba nearly squealed with joy, which made Aurra roll her eyes in the background, although a small smile could've help make her way into her lips. They all got up, and walked to the exit, with Jango walking over to collect the drunken weequays.

"We're going." Jango told them sternly. "Get your act together."

The pirates groaned and grumbled, but didn't argue with him, reluctantly pulling themselves away from the twi'leks. Making sure to throw their money, they staggered towards the exit.

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to the group, they did indeed attract some unwanted attention. A group of people glare at the group as they left, as they had some unfinished business with some of them…

…

They returned to the _Slave I_, where Zam was patiently waiting for them. After retrieving the pod, they walked back to the meeting point.

To their relief, they managed to get there without any issues, save for the weequays stumbling and babbling, to which they had to remind them to shut up.

Eventually making it to their destination, they began to split into small groups, scattering themselves around the meeting point in case it was a trap.

Jango and Bane were together, scanning the area for either potential enemies or their clients.

"So Jango," Cad Bane tipped his hat. "You got something you wanna talk about?"."

"...You can always tell when I got things on my mind, Bane." Jango sighed, not denying it whatsoever.

"You talking about the moment when we found out the target was actually a kid?" Bane guessed.

Jango didn't say anything for a while, before he continued. "I still can't believe that all that trouble was just for a kid."

"A soldier, to be correct." Bane stated. "If you read the information about that planet, you would know that the use of children in their military is the norm in their culture." Bane scoffed. "Just be happy that we didn't run into one of those brats."

Jango then turned to the blue-skinned bounty hunter. "Would you really shoot one of those kids if you had to?"

Cad Bane turned towards him, with a blank look on his face. "Would you?"

The two men fell into silence, suddenly unable to answer each others questions for a moment.

"...I'm just doing this to get paid, Jango." Cad Bane finally said, before taking a few steps away from him. "I do whatever I need to do to get my credits." He then squinted at him. "But what's it with you? You don't care about the boy, do you?"

"...Not exactly." Jango finally said. "It's more about that village."

"What about it?" Bane snorted. "Since when were you worried about making enemies? It's just an occupational hazard."

"No, not that." Jango waved him off. "I was talking about the whirlpool patch on their shoulders and backs."

"So?"

Jango was about to go further on the topic, when they were interrupted by the sound of engines. Looking up, they saw a small ship that was growing closer to them.

"About time they've showed up." Bane muttered, before walking towards the incoming shuttle with the pod, leaving Jango on his own as the ship began to descend upon them..

The Sheathipede shuttle took a moment to land as it turned around, before its landing claws came out, connecting to the ground.

The doors slid open, revealing a group of B1 battle droids. Two of them stepped out, their blasters in their metal hands, and six more soon followed, with two of them carrying two metal bags of credits.

The last one to follow them were two Neimoidians in their traditional clothing. Green skinned and red-eyed, the two of them cowered at the gazes of the bounty hunters, which made Cad Bane scoff.

Clearing his throat, one of the Neimoidians stepped up to the Mandalorian.

"You must be the one who goes by Jango Fett." He extended his hand, to which Jango reluctantly took. "I've been informed that you are the one I should meet."

"You got the credits for us?" Jango simply asked.

"Of course, just as your employer has promised." The Neimoidian clicked his fingers. The two droids opened the suitcases and revealed a very impressive amount of credit chips.

"As promised, here are your credits." The Neimoidian said. "Now. The child."

"...We got him." Jango roughly answered as the weequay mercenaries started escorting the pod to the middle of the area.

"Show it to me."

Jango turned to one of the weequay and nodded. One push of a button, and the pod opened up, revealing a still unconscious and bandaged Naruto, who was still sedated from Zam's drug.

"Excellent." The Neimoidian hummed as he inspected the boy. "I see you've proven your job well done, bounty hunters."

"The pay." Cad Bane reminded them, who was growing rather impatient.

"Of course." He clicked his fingers again, and the droids moved forward, nervously placing the suitcases in front of the bounty hunters for Aurra to pick up, before walking back.

"Lord Tyranus will be more than pleased by your performance." The Neimoidian complemented as the weequay pushed the pod to the droids, who closed it promptly. "He hopes that you can be of great service to him again."

"If he needs me to invade another planet with no information about its culture or military to kidnap a kid again, tell him I said no." Jango grunted as he turned around, walking towards the exit with the others.

The Neimoidian took no notice of the last comment, and turned to the yellow-patterned battle droid. "Bring the specimen into the ship."

"Roger, Roger." The droid replied before ordering his troops. "You heard him, move the subject Naruto Uzumaki into the ship."

A pair of legs stopped moving. Jango froze in place as he heard the last name.

Cad Bane turned around to notice his rival wasn't moving. "What's the matter, Jango?"

The Mandalorian's helmet slowly turned back towards the ship, staring at the young boy that he had helped send to his doom.

"Jango." Aurra called him out. "Come on, we've got our credits."

Jango just continued walking towards the ship, his hand dangerously close to his blasters.

"Dad?"

The Mandalorian said nothing as he grew closer to the Separatists.

Just before anyone could do or say anything, a loud voice filled the air.

"Greetings, my friends!"

Everyone froze as they looked up at the balcony, seeing a group of armed men standing on the other side of the port. Their blasters and rocket launchers were aimed at them, causing everyone to tense up.

"Zygerrians." Jango growled as his blasters were aimed at them. "What do those scumbags want?"

"We want no trouble with you bounty hunters or you Separatists." The leader of the group declared. "Well, not exactly true with the first one. You see, those...drunken fools," He glared at the weequays, who were shakingly aiming their blasters at them. "Have crossed with us in the past, stealing our shipments of spice. All we want is those idiots, and everyone can go on their merry way."

One of the drunken weequay spat at them. "Screw you, you slaving bastards! Go back to your bitch queen and tell her to suck it!"

"What did you just say?!" The zygerrians growled in anger.

The drunken weequay pulled out a blaster at them. "Eat this!"

PEW!

The guy next to the Zygerrian speaker got shot through the chest, shocking everyone.

And that's when all hell broke loose...again.

BOOM!

The droids and the Neimodians screamed as they were flown forward, their ship blown up by a rocket launcher, courtesy of the zygerrians.

POW! POW! POW! PEW! PEW! PEW!

Within seconds, the entire landing platform became a battlefield, with missiles and blaster bolts flying like mad.

One of the weequays took a bolt to the shoulder, causing him to fall down behind the metal box he was hiding behind. The crap talker, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky, as he got hit by blaster fire first in the gut, chest, and then the head, which ended his life. The other two weequay managed to take cover behind the pillars, and now sobering up a little, their aim grew much better as they grew more determined to survive this battle..

"Damn bastards took out N'agel!" One of the weequay behind the pillar roared, before cursing at them. "Catch this, you Zyg bastards!" He got out from his cover and started firing at the slavers at the balcony who were forced to take cover.

"Where the kriff are the others?!" One of the weequays hissed, clutching his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Cad Bane and the others were just standing by the sidelines, not trying to get involved in this firefight, but the firefight made their only exit unreachable. Plus, if they tried to escape via flying, they would become an easy target, especially if they had to carry someone out of there.

Zam took cover beside Aurra behind a box and commented, "Looks like we're stuck here. Any suggestions?" A blaster shot flew past her, nearly hitting her.

"Well, this isn't our problem, so I say we let them take care of each other." Aurra just shrugged, while keeping her fingers on his blasters. "Why get into someone else's business when it's clearly none of ours?"

Cad Bane, who was ducking behind a cargo box with Boba, noticed that someone wasn't there with them. "Anyone seen Jango?"

FWOOM!

The familiar sound of a jetpack going off made Boba look out from his hiding spot.

"Look! He's fighting!" The other three bounty hunters turned to look at what Boba meant, and were equally surprised and at awe at what they were seeing.

Jango was flying in the air, dodging blaster fire from the Zygerrians as he was firing back at them, causing the group to scatter.

"Its Jango Fett! Somebody kill him!" One of slavers warned.

Landing on the ground, he began to dodge and hide from the bullets. His helmet warning him of a threat from above, he looked up and saw a zygerrian aiming a rifle at him. Smirking, he fired a single bolt at his would-be sniper, and he fell from the rooftop, dead before he hit the ground.

_'One down, three more to go.'_ Jango thought, his helmet scanning the three surviving zygerrians.

His eyes widened as he detected one of them holding a rocket launcher, which was aimed directly at him.

"Dodge this!" The zygerrian roared, before he pulled the trigger.

_'Kriff!'_ Jango thought as he pushed a button on his gauntlet.

FWOOM! FWOOM! BOOM!

The second the zygerrian launched his rocket, Jango did the same, firing his missile from his jetpack. The two missiles collided with each other, creating an explosion that sent people and debris flying in opposite directions.

…

The wounded weequay panted as he could nothing but continue to hide like a coward. He watched as his two remaining friends were struggling against the Zygs. He wished he could help them, but his shooting arm was injured, and it hurt like hell to even move it.

One of his friends, which was too far to help, shouted, "Shahan! You alright?!"

Shahan hissed as he shifted his body. "I'm fine! Had better days!"

"Hold on, we're getting you out of here!"

The zygerrian with the rocket launcher took notice of the shouting, and grinned, turning his weapon toward the pillars the two weequays were hiding behind. He had one last rocket, and he figured that he'd use it on getting revenge for the loss of the spice shipment.

Shahan took another peak, and saw the zyg with the heavy artillery. "Guys, get out of there!"

FWOOSH!

Time seemed to slow down for the weequay as the zygerrian fired his weapon, the missile flying towards the pillar. The two weequays screamed as they tried to move out of the way, but it was too late.

BOOM!

The pillar exploded, sending a wave of fire and debris flying everywhere. Shahan covered his ears as the explosion nearly deafened him. Slowly opening his eyes, he coughed as he saw the wreckage.

Shaking, his eyes finally fell on the remains of his friends, whose expressions of horror was still etched into his face.

Horror turned to rage as Shahan began to see red.

"You bastards!" Shahan roared, grabbing his blaster with his other arm, and aimed at the zygerrians. .

PEW! PEW! PEW! PEW! PEW!

Unfortunately, Shahan never shot with his left arm, and thus, his shots never hit their target. Still, that didn't stop him as he continued to fire at the zygerrians in rage.

"You filthy pirating scum! Do you know who you were stealing from?!" The zygerrians roared at him from behind their pillars.

"I don't know, and frankly, I don't give a damn!" The last weequay of the group shouted back. "The name's Shahan Alama, and I'm gonna kill you all! Come and get me!"

"Why you!-"

PEW!

A blaster shot flew out of nowhere, hitting one of the zygerrians in the face. Slumping over, everyone turned to look at the shooter, revealing it to be the Mandalorian bounty hunter, who was behind the destroyed shuttle.

POW! POW! POW! POW!

Two more zygerrians, who came to reinforce them, fell from the rooftop, with a blaster burn on their chests. Falling with a loud CRUNCH!, they continued to groan, to which Jango shot their heads to end their life.

CLUNK. CLUNK. CLUNK.

Jango turned towards the source of the noise, and his eyes widened at the metal, beeping ball of death.

KA-BOOM!

Jango was sent flying by the explosion. He landed on his jetpack quite painfully, and it sparked from the damage. One of the zygerrians had thrown a thermal detonator, which would've killed him, had it not for his reflexes and his armor.

_'Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt like hell.'_ Jango groaned. He was pretty sure that his durasteel armor didn't completely protect him, and he was pretty sure that the blast had broken a few bones and scorched his skin.

"You know, Mr. Fett," The leader of the group walked up to his fallen body. "I've never had the pleasure of killing a Mandalorian. Now, not only can I proudly say that I've slain one of your kind, but I can even keep your armor as the trophy."

Jango tried to move, but his body felt weak, and his armor suddenly felt a million times heavier. He struggled to get up, but he failed to even lift his head, his armor now becoming his undoing.

The zygerrian smirked, kicking away the Mandalorian's blasters, before he turned back to the pod.

"I wonder what's so special about that pod anyways that was worth your interference and all this trouble." The zygerrian pondered out loud. "I noticed that you could've left with your friends a long time ago, but instead, you chose to stay here. Is it loyalty to your pirate friends...or is it the human in the pod?"

Jango cursed under his breath. His eyes darted to the pod, which was being taken by the surviving zygerrians.

"Well, the fun ends here." The zygerrian smirked, aiming his blaster at the human's neck.

"Hey boss, check this out!" One of his men said. They made to back behind the pillars when something of interest came up.

"What is it?" He growled, wanting to end this bounty hunter's life.

"It says this boy is from...Elementia." The Zygerrian read it out loud, catching the leader's attention.

"Elementia?" His growl turned into smile of interest. "I've heard that those humans are supposed to be super strong." The zygerrian turned back towards the Mandalorian. "Looks like this trip wasn't a complete waste after all."

Jango wished he could do anything. Strangle the bastard. Slit his throat. Shove a thermal detonator into his mouth. But his body was still too hurt to even move his arm, and even if he could, he would never be fast enough to take him on properly.

"Take it back to the ship, now." He ordered his men. "He'll make a fine addition to the spice mines." They nodded, before they quickly took off, leaving the Zygerrian alone with the injured Mandalorian.

"If you dare put a hand on the boy-"

"Pssh, don't pretend to care about the boy, Mr. Fett." The zygerrian snorted. "If you did, he wouldn't be in this situation now, would he? Besides, think of it as a fair compensation for the spice those idiots stole."

And with that, he raised his blaster again.

PEW!

The zygerrian's grin stayed on his face, before he fell over, a smoking hole coming out of his head. Cad Bane and the rest of his crew stepped out of the shadows, with the duros holding a smoking blaster.

"We're even now, Jango." Bane simply said. "Now, why don't you go help out your father, boy?"

Cad Bane's sentence was barely uttered before Boba took off for his father.

"Dad, are you alright?" He asked, worried to death. His father groaned as he struggled to get up. Seeing this, Boba gingerly helped his father to his feet.

"No, son, I'm not alright." He winced, slowly holstering his blasters after Boba picked them up for him.

Noting how Jango was clutching at his ribs, Boba immediately commed Zam to prepare a bacta bath. Unbeknownst to him, however, this wasn't the reason why Jango said he wasn't alright.

_'What have I done?' _Jango thought wearily, staring at the spot where the pod used to be. _'Jaster, I hope you can forgive me…" _

* * *

A plummet of black smoke was visible in the air, coming out of one of the ports. This, alongside of the firefight that had occurred not that long ago, attracted some attention, since it was rather hard to not notice. Despite this, the people wisely chose to avoid the area for a while, nor were they foolish enough to dig their noses into it.

A few minutes after the firefight had ended, a YV-865 Aurore-class freighter just took off.

Inside of the freighter was a team of zygerrians, which included the survivors of the fight they had with the bounty hunters.

The leader, who was the zygerrian with a purple convor bird on his shoulder, scowled at the survivors, then at the pod.

"Can someone explain just what the kriff happened back there?"

"We took care of those bastards that stole our spice. You know, the guys we told you about from the cantina?" One of them explained. "Unfortunately, they were in the middle of a business transaction with the Separatists, and things got violent. They were with a team, and they gave us a hard time, even killing your second-in-command."

"Regrettable." D'Nar frowned. "But at least we sent a message to that slimeball, Hondo."

His eyes then traveled back to the pod. "That being said, what's with the pod there?"

"Right, about that..." He replied, pointing at the stolen pod. "Open it up!"

The zygerrian's partner opened up the pod, and carelessly shoved the blond boy out of it.

"We've found this boy being given to the Separatists. Seeing as how those those bastards died from the fight, they won't be missing this after all. It's one of those 'supers' from that new planet, Elementia." He explained, with D'Nar's expression changing from anger to one of interest.

"I see. Good work." He nodded at his men, before examining the boy for himself. He inspected the boy, and seeing as how he was in good health, he let out a grin. His eyes then traveled to his stomach, which was now exposed from the fall. Pushing aside the thin, hospital gown, he stared at the strange tattoo that was on the boy's navel."

"Does the data say anything about these strange markings?"

"Um," His men immediately began to recheck the data. "No, sir. It mentions nothing about it."

"I see." D'Nar's expression grew into a smirk. "No matter. He'll make a perfect addition to my collection."

"Sir?"

"I've decided to keep it." D'Nar chuckled. "He'll be useful in what he's going to do for me now. Put it inside with the rest."

One of them grabbed Naruto by the shirt, and started dragging him further inside the ship like a ragdoll.

It was then that the ship disappeared from view, entering hyperspace. By that time, Jango would have entered his ship, taking a dip into a bacta tank, while Boba did his best to try to find the zygerrian's ship.

However, by the time they even discovered where they had parked their ship, it would be far too late.

…

CRASH!

Naruto's body was roughly thrown into a large cage. Still unconscious, the boy's neck was now outfitted with a collar.

"Sleep all you want, boy. Once you wake up you'll be working hard like the rest of them." D'Nar sneered to the still sedated boy, before going towards the cockpit, laughing all the way to himself.

The cage next to Naruto's was very silent, with the large, purple man inside of it having overheard everything. His green eyes moved to his new roommate, and sighed when he took a good look at the boy.

"Karabast."

* * *

**[Inside the Seal]**

Kurama, who had witnessed everything that was happening so far, frowned at how everything turned out.

**"So this is where the Force led him."** Kurama muttered to himself. **"Interesting. While I can't see into the future like that old fart can, even I can tell that this will lead to something interesting."**

Could he have done more to help? Sure. While he couldn't do much unless the boy was in life-threatening danger, was wounded, or if Naruto himself was accessing his chakra, he could've still tried to purge the drug out of his system. Remembering Yoda's words, however, he chose not to, wanting to see where this would go.

Besides, this was a pretty good way to give the finger to not only that damned Uchiha asshole that used him that many years ago, but also to Konoha itself.

**"We'll see how you grow, Uzumaki. I do want to know whether this place will make you, or break you. In the meantime, let's start getting rid of this stupid drug."**

And with that, the sewer shook as a pulse of his chakra was sent throughout the boy's body.

* * *

*GASP!*

Naruto's eyes shot open, and he sat right up.

CLUNK!

"Ow…" Naruto hissed, rubbing his head. He banged his head on something, which hurt like hell.

Blinking, his eyes widened as he realized that something was wrong. For one, he wasn't in the hospital anymore. Two, he was in a cage, with a collar around his neck.

_'Okay, the last thing I remember was Shizune...no, that wasn't Shizune. Whoever that was, she attacked the nurse with something, and injected something into me...Oh crap.' _

"Looks like you're finally figuring it out, kid." A deep voice came from his left.

"H-huh?!" Startled, Naruto began to look around, searching for the source of the voice. "Who said that?"

"Quiet, kid. You don't wanna yell in this situation. Also, I'm right next to you."

Squinting, his eyes began to adjust in the dimly lit building...or wherever they were. Blinking, he began to realize that he was talking to a large, hairy creature, with strange, green eyes, who smelled kinda bad.

"Woah, are you a summoning creature?" Naruto asked. The said creature blinked, before raising an eyebrow.

"Umm, kid, I have no idea what that is, but no. I'm a Lasat, and the name is Garazeb. Garazeb Orrelios."

"Uhm…" Naruto just dumbly responded, still processing the fact that an ape-like creature was speaking to him normally like a human.

"Nevermind." The lasat rolled his eyes at the kid, and then looked at the direction of the cockpit. "I heard we're going to be working in the spice mines on Kessel, so we'll be stuck together. You can call me Zeb. What's your name?"

"My name? Its Naruto." He told the ape-like creature. "Wait a minute. Kessel Mines? What's that, and what are we going to do there?"

Zeb looked at the kid with a raised eyebrow. "Never heard of Kessel? Which planet did you grow up in, kid?"

"Elementia." Naruto answered after a second. "My - or, I guess our - planet just made contact with the Republic or something. They're the ones that gave it that name."

"Huh, so you're from that newly discovered planet. Explains a lot." Zeb noted to himself. "I'm going to be blunt, kid, we're going to be forced to mine spice for these bastards as slaves."

"A-as slaves?!" Naruto shouted, grabbing at his collar. "I-I can't be! I've got so much to do! I-"

ZAPPPPP!

"AAAH!" Naruto screamed as his collar released an enormous amount of electricity into his body. He fell over, his hands twitching at his sides as he tried to recover from the electrocution.

"Be silent, boy!" One of the zygerrian slavers yelled at Naruto.

Naruto's glare never wavered as he stared at the zygerrian in the eyes. "Screw...you."

ZAPPPPP!

Naruto screeched in pain as the collar him again. Hearing his screams put a smile to the zygerrian..

After a few more seconds, he let go of the button, allowing Naruto to breathe again. "I've learned much about your people, child."

The blond boy, who was still somehow conscious, slowly turned his head towards his tormentor.

"It's magnificent, really. Your people's culture." The furry man said while petting his bird. "I was already planning on going to your planet myself, but you...you just happened to fall right onto my lap. I will be fully invested in the plans I have for you, child. It won't be long before you'll be bowing to me."

Grunting in immense pain, Naruto bit his teeth while staring at him as he was being looked down upon by this man.

"I don't care what you do, you weird cat. But I will not bow down to anybody!"

Growling at his persistent attitude, he lifted his small remote, and pushed the button.

ZAPPPP!

"URK!" Another wave of electricity spread throughout his body again, the collar's power trying to force him into submission. Seeing no progress, D'Nar decided to raise the power.

"You will soon learn your place, slave." D'Nar told him with a sickening grin. "You might have the blood of a warrior, but like every one, you'll be broken, and I'll make you submit to your betters." And with that, he finally let go of the button.

Naruto, who was still on his knees, finally fell over. D'Nar leaned in a little, and when he discovered that he was still breathing, he left, satisfied with the results.

Meanwhile, Zeb just looked at him with sadness, tugging at his own collar.

* * *

**[Jedi Temple]**

Yoda sat alone in the Jedi Council Chamber. Frowning, he began to reflect at the recent developments that was occuring on the two planets of Earth and Elementia.

The result was predictable. Many of the independent countries on Earth have either decided to join the Republic or the Separatists. The reason for this divide was due to some of the political problems they already had. Most of the strongest, independent countries have chosen to join the Republic, while the others either joined the Separatists or wished to remain neutral.

Elementia held nearly the exact some results. Konoha was the first to join the Republic, followed by Suna, which had recently re-negotiated their ties with its former ally, and was also in the process of negotiating with the Republic.

Meanwhile, Iwa and Kumo had decided to join the CIS within moments after they were given the offer, due to their poor relationship with the Leaf Village. Kiri, meanwhile, was still in the midst of its own political war, with both the Republic and the CIS hesitant to enter.

Then there was the other, much smaller villages, like Kusa, Taki, and the others. Most, if not all of them, were forced to pick one side or the other, due to their neighboring villages, or the other allies they had, save for Amegakure, who closed themselves off from the rest of the world.

This pretty much reflected the current situation of the galaxy, with it being split into three factions (with the third being the Neutral Systems.) To make matters worse, the Force didn't seem to be with them at the moment, with more and more visions becoming unclear or blurred.

The doors slid open, and Mace Windu entered the room. "Master Yoda."

"Master Windu." The small, green Jedi nodded to him.

"I need to speak with you." The master said to him. "It's important."

"Hm, speak with me here, you can." Yoda nodded, choosing to stay in his seat.

"It's about the other Jedi. They're asking questions about the Memory Holocron you showed us."

"Go on." Yoda said.

"As you may know by now, many of the padawans, knights, and even masters, have been researching in the archives about this. They've discovered that the Sith like Darth Bane have lived in a different era than yours, with Bane in particular belonging in the era of the Old Republic, which was almost three millennia ago."

"Questions everybody has, I assume." Yoda closed his eyes in thought. "Answer, I do have. Unpleasant, they are, however."

Mace raised his eyebrow at this, before narrowing them, already beginning to guess the answer.

Yoda dug into his robes, pulling out the Memory Holocron.

"Forbidden knowledge, the Dark Side offers." Yoda said, staring at his holocron. "Immortality, some might say, it can offer. Raising the dead, it can also do."

"Raising the dead?" Mace Windu's eyes widened. "You're not saying-"

"Dead, those Sith were." Yoda nodded grimly. "Called them from the grave, that Kaguya woman has."

Before the conversation could continue, the doors suddenly opened.

"MASTERS!"

They turned towards the doors and saw that it was Padawan Skywalker who just ran in, much to the dismay of Mace Windu.

"Skywalker, don't you see that we're in a conversation?" Master Windu sternly glared at the Padawan. "You better have a reason for barging in like this."

Anakin took a moment to breathe before rising up. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, Masters. But I came here telling you urgent news coming from the Hidden Leaf Village."

Yoda turned towards the padawan with immediate focus.

"It's been attacked by bounty hunters." Anakin informed them. "Their village leader has requested the presence of Master Yoda."

Mace Windu turned to the Grand Master, who was now getting up from his seat.

"Go now, I must. Join me, if you wish." Yoda offered to his fellow master. "Skywalker, pass this news to your master Obi Wan, you must."

"I will master," Anakin said watching the Master Yoda leave the two jedi behind to walk on his own.

"I will, Master Yoda." Anakin bowed, watching the two masters leave. After watching them disappear, he ran to inform the others of this unfortunate news.

* * *

**[Inside the Seal]**

SPLASH!

Kurama watched as Naruto's body fell from the dark ceiling. Landing in the water, Naruto's groaned as he began to recover from the torture he had just endured from those beast-men.

Meanwhile for Kurama, he was in his meditation position and had his hands clapped against each other with his eyes closed and the energy spiralling out of him.

Staring at the boy's fallen form, Kurama let out a sigh.

**"It's nothing personal, kid. Even if you asked me to, I'm not gonna help you. Not until you prove me worthy of my help. I don't know if this is part of the Force or not, but unless you can grow stronger from this, I'm not going to step in - much." **

Kurama snorted, a gust of air disturbing the water below him.

**"I've already done enough by giving you the ability to read, speak, and understand Basic." **Kurama continued, uncaring whether or not the boy was listening to him. **"From here on out, you're on your own."**

A pulse of his chakra shot out like a fast wave, and Naruto's body stopped twitching, relaxing as his body began to recover from the electrocution much faster.

Just then, Kurama looked up, hearing the voices of the zygerrians growing louder.

**"If you thought that your life has been Hell so far, then it's time that you learn the true meaning of suffering."** Kurama grunted. **"I'm counting on you to not die. I'm counting on you to survive, to grow, to adapt, and to strike, when the time is right. What you do from there, be it for good or for bad, will be up to you."**

The voices of the slavers grow louder and angrier, and Kurama knew that he didn't have much more time left to speak his thoughts.

**"You probably don't remember all those years of suffering, especially that night, especially since the Third Hokage made sure to seal away the memories, but you probably will soon."** Kurama grimly stated. **"Living in the slums, taking your first life, and especially that night when those bastards were close to taking your life? That's the night where the villagers really learned to make sure to keep their hands off of you. But the damage was done, and it'll probably be redone soon."**

Naruto's body began to fade away as he was being brought to consciousness.

**"Time to get up, boy. Time for you to prove your worth as a warrior. As a child of the Uzumakis. As a descendant of Mandalore." **

* * *

Naruto gasped as he woke back up. Scrambling to his knees (while being careful to not bump his head again), he glanced back at the cage where the other guy was in.

"Zeb?"

The cage was empty.

"Zeb? Where are yo-ACK!" Naruto didn't get to finish his sentence as a hand roughly grabbed his collar. Choking, Naruto struggled to breathe, barely acknowledging the fact that he was being dragged away to kami-knows-where.

Just as Naruto thought that he was going to black out again, he was roughly thrown forward, and the air - as stale and dirty as it was, - mercifully returned to his lungs.

CLINCH. CLICK.

Naruto blinked, and he realized that one of those hairy bastards put one what he assumed to be the future version (or should he say modern version now?) of handcuffs.

"Don't worry about your hair friend, slave." D'Nar walked up with him with a chuckle, his hands behind his back in an authoritative manner. "You'll be joining him in the mines soon enough. Just like him, you'll soon learn your place."

Naruto shot him a glare, which matched D'Nar's fierce one. Not caring once again about the collar around his neck, Naruto leaned his head back.

PTOO!

D'Nar blinked, and he realized that the human boy had just spit on his shoes.

Letting out a roar of rage, he kicked Naruto's face, before stomping on it. Much to his frustration, the boy refused to scream or cry out, which only served to further anger him.

"You whiskered freak! I will make sure to make _your_ life a living nightmare! Perhaps your family would like to join you? Wouldn't talk back as much, would you?!"

Hearing this, Naruto simply let out a small chuckle.

"Heh, my family's dead, asshole. Why don't you just kill me so that I can join them?"

D'Nar's sharp teeth gritted together as his fingers twitched at the blaster at his side.

…

Kessel was a planet in the edges of the galaxy. All but ignored by the Republic, the criminals of the underworld took advantage of their willful negligence, and used slave labor to harvest spice and other resources from the planet.

Perhaps at one point it was a beautiful planet, but whatever beauty it may once held was forever tainted by the cruelty of people, with the planet itself suffering from the dark vices of the sentients. Dirty smoke often filled the skies, with the air being barely breathable enough for both the slavers and the slaves.

Speaking of, the new slaves were being transported to the planet, with the slaves being shamefully pushed and prodded towards their new masters and their new workplace. Overlooking this process was the Pyke Syndicates, who watched the newcomers carefully. Despite the Zygerrian Empire constantly doing business with them, it was the Pykes that truly dominated this planet.

"YEAARGH!"

Everyone, both the slaves and their slavers, froze as they heard the loud scream. Turning their heads simultaneously, they watched a young blond, human boy fly out of a freighter, being thrown by an angered D'Nar.

D'Nar let out a loud growl as he walked up towards the fallen new slave, who was coughing and wheezing, trying to get back on his feet. Not giving him the chance to do so, he proceeding to kick him in the ribs again, making an example out of him in front of the other slaves.

After five more minutes of continuous beating, D'Nar finally stopped, now out of breath, but still looking just as angry as ever, watching Naruto cough out blood. Although admittedly impressed by the boy's endurance, he knew that if he went any further, he would kill the boy, which would've been counterproductive. Leaving the boy to the Pyke Syndicates, he walked over to the other Pykes to have a discussion with them.

"Get him up." One of the Pyke Sentinels ordered the slaves, and the brave volunteers eventually walked forward to do so.

"Hey kid, you alright?"

"Huh?" Naruto's eyes finally fluttered open, his vision blurry and red. "Who said that?"

"Me, you numbskull." Naruto looked to his right, and saw it was the Lasat Zeb. "You've must've really pissed off the bastard to make him really give it to you.."

"I just spat on the guy's shoes, nothing else." Naruto weakly chuckled, grinning him a bloody grin. He winced, feeling his split lip scream in agony. "So what, are you saying I shouldn't have done it?"

Zeb gave him a weak, sad smile. "Probably not, although I gotta give it you to ya: You got a bigger set than I do, and I'm a Lasat."

"Well, I never liked giving respect to those that don't deserve it." Naruto gingerly shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, I think I've been through much worse, believe it."

Despite his weakened and beaten form, Naruto's attitude remained as strong as ever, which somehow made Zeb feel a lot better.

"Slaves!"

All chatter ceased immediately as all eyes were on D'Nar. Naruto realized that he finally made it to the other slaves, who immediately looked away from him. Naruto slowly lifted his head, looking at D'Nar, who was standing on a podium with the other Pykes.

"I'm only saying this once, so you better listen up. You will all be living here as my personal labor force. As part of my collection, you'll be working on this section of the mine, which my empire happens to own. You will all be digging for my spices. Work hard and listen to your superiors, and I may go easy on you. May."

This got many frowns from the slaves, but none dared to speak up, choosing to look down at the ground instead of meeting the zygerrian's eyes. The minute they did so, they noticed that the mine D'Nar was talking about was much different than the others. This one was a large, deep hole, looking much one the sinkhole cities of Utapau.

"Welcome to Ölüm, also known as 'The Red Grave.' This will be your home from now on, so better get used to it."

D'Nar's laughter echoed throughout the deep mines, sending shivers down the spines of the other slaves.

* * *

**(AN from LW and AL)**

**Lucius Walker:** If you didn't know by now, I have reposted this story on AO3 in the event that something happens to his story, like choosing to banish this story to the Shadow Realm for having lemons (but not doing anything about trolls and excessively mean comments.) It will be under the title, A Jinchuuriki's Destiny (LW Post).

Anyways, please like and comment on this story. If you have any constructive criticism, fire away.

**AmusedLight:** Like my friend here says, we'll publish the AO3 version on his account (which is under the same name). Keep in mind that I'm still the main writer. Also, I'm currently working on this story till the next arc for this is finished. Also, I am open for anyone who wants to be an Beta-writer for any other story I am currently working on. So if you are interested, contact me on .

Have a good night!


	5. The Plans

**[Amegakure; ?]**

It has been three weeks since the sudden attack occurred on Konoha. Only a few casualties were reported, with many more being lightly injured. The real damage was mostly done to the village itself, with many buildings and trees either burnt down or blown up.

Officially, it was reported to the world as a random attack by a group of thugs from outer space. One, which they successfully fended off with no major loss.

However, a certain group of people knew better. Those group of individuals knew the truth, and were coming together to hold a meeting about it.

…

As implied by the name, Amegakure was a village that was always raining. On the days when the rain would come pouring extra hard, it was quite useful for shinobi, since the rain would help mask their presence.

In this case, it would help the two individuals, who were wearing dark cloaks with red clouds on them, intrude the village. They were currently walking through an alleyway, doing their best to avoid detection.

The two cloaked men peeked at a homeless man to their left from under their straw hats, who was currently trying to stay warm and dry under a makeshift tent. Trying to keep the fire alive in a small pot, the dirty, homeless man looked up at them. Seeing the cloaked men, he nodded at them, his false look of misery and fear turning into one of determination and duty. The two men nodded back, before they continued down the alleyway.

They made a few turns, and found the entrance to a large sewer tunnel. Checking to see if they were being followed, they entered the entrance to their secret, underground base.

"Man, it's been such a crazy few months, wouldn't you agree, Sasori?" Deidara finally said. The cloaked hunchback, who was now revealed as Sasori of the Red Sand, a missing-nin from Sunagakure, just nodded. "I do wonder why our boss decided to summon us all together in person. I mean, we got these rings for a reason, you know?"

Sasori just rolled his eyes. "I'm sure the leader has a good reason for such an order, Deidara. One attempt to take over a village because they're fools."

Sasori was referring to the fact that Pain, their mysterious, orange haired leader, had decided to overthrow Hanzo to take over the village. He had rallied most of the people with him, which was the first step to his plan for taking over as the village's leader.

Due to the civil war they were undergoing, the village had closed itself off from the rest of the world, which, according to their sources, was now being called "Elementia." Part of the reason to why the people had decided to rebel against Hanzo was because of the declining economy the village was suffering from. Hanzo, being the paranoid man he was, refused to open up to the other nations and villages. This, aside from the fact that it was always gloomy and wet, made the people more miserable and poor, and thus, more hungry. On top of that, Hanzo refused to let the people in or out, which again, contributed to the poor lifestyle the people had to undergo.

The final straw would be the Galactic Republic's presence on their planet. Offering food, superior technology, and other supplies to anyone who decided to join them, the people had hoped that their leader would accept their offer. Much to their displeasure, he flat out rejected their offer, and thus, sending the village into further despair.

Then came along Pain, the strange-eyed man who seemed to have the powers of the gods. He seemed to swoop down from the heavens, offering them food, warmth, and hope of a better future. And just like that, almost half of the village joined him in the war against Hanzo, the Paranoid Tyrant.

"You know, thinking about how the civil war got started reminds me of something. I think your old village joined the Republic, right?" Deidara added. "Meanwhile, the old geezer in _my_ old village took the other way, joining the Confederacy or whatever. I guess it goes to show that petty rivalry extends beyond the stars, huh?"

"That we can agree on."

The two of them stopped in their tracks as they finally made it to the secret underground room. Regarding the two rebel guards, they pushed open the large doors, and stepped inside.

"Looks like we've arrived." Deidara said, looking up at the large statue in front of them. Despite seeing it before in a different location, it never failed to amaze him.

That statue was the Gedō Mazō, or also known as the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. It stood taller like any other monumental or religious statue that could be seen across the Shinobi lands.

The statue was sticking its hands out of the earth, its hands spread out in a prayer, giving the demonic being a sense of ancient, godly power.

Deidara shook his head, and shifted his focus to the other apparitions of the rest of the Akatsuki members, who were standing on the fingers of the large statue.

_"You've made it."_ The green eyed, masked figure said. Despite how dimly lit the room was, he could still see the scratched out Takigakure symbol on his forehead. _"Good. Now that you're here, it will only be a matter of time before the leader comes in."_

"Kakuzu." Deidara called the member out with a smile. "How are you doing, my man? Don't you have any accounting to do or something?" Kakuzu was infamous for two things: His freaky immortality, and his greed for money. Deidara always liked to poke at his lust for money, which was always fun to do.

_"Don't talk to me about counting money, Deidara. Ever since the Republic rolled in, they're now using a different form of currency, which is annoying to learn, and equally annoying to convert to." _Kazuku growled at him. _"Besides, I haven't been able to make any money at all. Not since we had to stay low for the past few months to take part in this civil war. And what doesn't help my mood is my idiot, zealous freak of a partner and his stupid, religious rants!" _

_"Ey, fuck you!" _Hidan shouted at his partner. _"You can speak easily, I have convictions! How can I honor Jashin if I cannot spill blood!" "You have it easy, man! I have convictions! Faith! How can I honor my god jashin if I can't spill any blood?!" _

_"Like I care about your stupid convictions, Hidan."_

_"How dare you-"_

"Can you both just shut up?" Sasori sighed, being the mediator for once. "Nobody has been doing anything then except for gathering information now. I think we can all agree that we're all unable to do our favorite activities, so enough with the pointless banter."

"Sasori's right, you know." Deidara agreed with a chuckle. "Besides, it's not like it hasn't been a complete bore these past few months. I mean, who knew that politics can be so interesting, especially these days."

Just before someone else can say anything else, two more holographic images appeared on the statue's fingers. These two were quickly recognized, with the large sword and a particular set of red eyes making it easy to deduce their identities.

"Well, look what the cat brought in." Deidara said, upon recognizing the two other members. "Itachi, Kisame. Its been awhile since we heard from you guys."

_"Hey yourself, Deidara. Sasori. Guys."_ Kisame smirked under his robe. _"I've been missing these kind of conversations."_

_"That's a lie, and you know it."_ Kakuzu said to the rogue Mist shinobi. _"Got any word from the situation in Kirigakure?"_

_"Yeah, but I'd rather disclose it when the leader is here." _Kisame turned to his partner. _"On the other hand, Itachi and I found some interesting news about Konoha. Something about their Jinchuuriki."_

"Oh, that village, huh?" Deidara chuckled. "I heard it took a beating from some bounty hunters from outer space. Pretty embarrassing for them, huh? Deidara taunted at Itachi.

Much to his slight disappointment, Itachi didn't even blink at his jab.

_"Like what my partner said, I'll wait until our leader arrives before disclosing details."_

**"You won't have to wait long."**

The rough voice came from the ground, and Deidara and Sasori watched as a plant-like man began to sprout from the ground. The man, much like the rest of them, wore the same cloak as the rest of them, and like the rest of them, this member was different from the rest of them, with the difference lying in the fact that he was plant-like (much like how Kisame was part shark), and with the fact that the right half of him was pure black.

"Zetsu." Sasori nodded at the plant-man, who nodded back at him.

**"They're here." **

Moments after he said that, Sasori and Deidara heard footsteps behind them. Turning around, they found themselves staring directly into the strange, rippled eyes their leader held, as well as the blue-haired woman's amber ones.

"I've arrived." Pain said, announcing his entrance. "I see everyone is present. Let us not waste any more time. If you have any important intel, speak now. Itachi? Kisame?"

Usually it was Itachi who gave the intel, but Kisame, who was bored out of his mind, decided to do the talking for once.

_"I'm guessing that everyone knows of the attack that happened at the Hidden Leaf Village, right? Well, we just managed to figure out that it wasn't a random attack by criminals. No, they had a specific target in mind to capture. And captured one of them, they did." _

"Who was the target?" Konan asked in place of her friend and leader.

_"Naruto Uzumaki, the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails."_

This news came as an unpleasant shock to the group, particularly towards Pain, who narrowed his eyes at the two.

"...Is this true, Itachi?" Pain slowly asked. "If so, any idea on who's responsible, and why?"

_"It's as you he said, Pain-sama." _Itachi nodded._ "According to our intel, Naruto Uzumaki was the target these criminals were after. Mercenaries, excuse me. For what purpose, even they did not know. The only notable fact is that they were of varying sentient species, they are quite infamous in the galaxy, and that they seemed more concerned about leaving with their target than confronting the shinobi."_

_"Well that's just fucking great!"_ Hidan shouted. _"You're telling me that this little bastard is now somewhere around this big, fucking galaxy!?"_

_"Shut up, Hidan."_ Kakuzu snapped. _"Your complaining won't get us anywhere." _

_"Well excuse me, Kakuzu-"_

"Silence!" Pain snapped, which stopped the bickering. "This is no time for this sort of nonsense!"

He then fell into silence as he began to process this new information. With the capture of one of the jinchuuriki, especially the one with the nine-tailed fox, their plans were ruined. It didn't matter how many they captured now. So long as one of them - ONE of them - was out of the picture, they couldn't continue on with their plans.

"While this setback is regrettable, this changes nothing of our plan yet." Pain finally continued. "We must search for the jinchuuriki in the stars. We'll scour every planet if we must. However, our access to the lands beyond the stars will not happen unless we claim Amegakure for ourselves. Once we overthrow the Paranoid Tyrant, not only will we possess the political immunity for our arrests, but we will also be able to negotiate the foreign governments for space travel. This is where every single one of you will come in."

_"With all due respect,"_ Itachi began to ask. _"How can we be of any help? The majority of us are infamous missing-nin. If anything, our very presence unnerves the rebel soldiers in this hideout. I can tell that their trust and faith in this organization is wavering." _

"And that is why all of you will do your best to correct that." Pain simply replied. "This will be your chance to become saviors instead of mindless killers. With your heroic acts to fight against the mighty tyrant, your name will be cleared enough where the future leader of the village will grant you immunity."

_"I see."_ Itachi nodded. _"Then we shall do our best to support the troops and the people."_

_"Same here." _Kisame grinned. _"Man, this is gonna so fun. This almost makes me forget about _my_ village's news." _

"What about your village, Kisame?" Konan couldn't help but ask.

_"Well, there's whispers of the civil war coming to a close in Kiri."_ Kisame announced to the group. _"The word on the street is that Mei Terumī's forces are finally making a breakthrough, penetrating the Mizukage's defenses thanks to both the Republic and the Separatists' forces."_

"Wait a minute, both of them?" Konan raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that the two were on poor terms with each other. Unless…"

_"You guessed it."_ Kisame nodded, his grin never leaving. _"They're having a free trial on who can offer the best deal, which includes supplies, men, you name it. Oh, and get this: Since the Republic couldn't actually help them with the fighting, due to the lack of troops, all they could do is send in some humanitarian support in between the fighting, which is basic stuff like food and medicine. The Separatists, meanwhile, sent those - what do you call them? Droids? Yeah, droids. They sent a lot of them to help with the war, and not to mention the same thing the Republic offered, but in bigger quantities. If the rumors are true, Mei's gonna join the Confederacy, which is funny, considering how the Separatists are being called the bad guys and the traitors by the Republic."_

"Interesting." Pain nodded in thought. "Thank you, Kisame. This intel may actually prove valuable to our cause, should we ever have to pick a side when we overthrow Hanzo."

_"Happy to help."_ Kisame just shrugged, before he finally finished, allowing Deidara to jump in.

"So Kiri's about to join the big C." Deida chuckled. "That's good to know, since my village also joined that side. According to Sasori, Kumo is on its way to join them as well, which means that so far, three of the five major villages have joined the Separatists."

Pain turned to the the puppeteer master. "Sasori, what's the news coming from Suna?"

"Suna has renegotiated their treaty with Konoha after their failed invasion. My spies have notified me that they are almost done completing their treaty with the Republic as well, and are now on their way to receiving the gifts and technology they had to offer. Furthermore, it would appear that their jinchuuriki has now taken over as the next Kazekage."

"So that's three major villages against two." Konan rounded up, before moving on to the next question. "What about the smaller villages?"

_"My village has already announced it would join the Republic."_ Kakuzu, said gaining everyone's attention. _"The village leader stated that out of respect for the late Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, he will remain an ally to Konoha, and thus, an ally for the Republic." _

_"Urgh!"_ Hidan hissed. _"My village doesn't exist anymore. Turned into a fucking hotspring resort. No shame-"_

_"Shut up, Hidan!"_ Kakuzu snapped at his whining, before turning back to the leader.

"What else on the villages, Kakuzu?

_"Kusa has decided to remain neutral in this political clash. No surprise really, considering how their skills in diplomacy far outranks its neighbors, like Iwa and Konoha. They did, however, offer to be the middle ground so that they can act as the mediator, should any potential conflicts arise in the future." _

This was actually good news for the group, since Amegakure shares a border with them in the north. _"Hoshigakure has also decided to join the Republic, which, given their friendly relations with Konoha, is no surprise. Meanwhile, the other independent countries like Nami and Haru have quickly declared neutrality, but decided to continue their equal trade for both sides the same." _

"And Oto?"

"Pff." Deidara rolled his eyes. "Like you could call _that_ a proper village. It's more like Orochimaru's side project..."

Ignoring his comments, Kakuzu answered Pain's question. "Orochimaru hasn't answered either's calls, and it's most likely that he wants to keep it that way. For the other non-shinobi villages, I have no information about it."

"Good work, Kakuzu. We'll keep that in mind." Pain said, before turning to the plant-man. "Zetsu, I want you to continue to gather information about the other countries. Keep an eye out on the main villages as well, and notify us of any significant events."

**"Will do, leader." **

Pain's eyes turned back to the others. "Our plans have changed, everyone. We will focus all our efforts on taking control over Amegakure. Our top priority now is to win the support of the people, and to eliminate all of Hanzo and his loyal subjects. I want every single person even remotely associated to the tyrant to be eliminated. Is that understood?."

"Yes, Pain-sama." They all nodded, determined to not fail their god-like leader.

"Itachi." Pain called out for the Uchiha, which made the room grow quiet. "You will work with Zetsu to find out who the kidnappers are. I want to know why he was kidnapped, and where he could be now."

"It will be done, Pain-sama." Itachi nodded.

"Good." Pain nodded in satisfaction. "You're all dismissed. Make sure that every single one of you gets here soon."

They all nodded, before the projections disappeared, leaving behind the Akatsuki members who were present in the area. They were all left in silence, save for the howlings winds and the loud thunder that rocked the skies.

* * *

**[Konoha, Hokage building]**

Tsunade sat in silence as all of the members of the Jedi Council, (save for Yoda, who had personally arrived to the planet,) were being broadcasted in front of Tsunade's desk, giving their reports in a somber tone. A protocol droid stood by her, waiting to do its duty.

_"Unfortunately, our efforts to track down the bounty hunters and the boy are being slowed down. We are being bombarded with diplomatic missions to try to convince the other systems to not defect to the Confederacy. On top of that, the bounty hunters have done a great job on covering their tracks, making it that much harder for us to find him." _

It was Plo Koon, the strange, masked Jedi who delivered the unfortunate news. Judging by the way he was looking down and the tone of his voice, it was clear that he was ashamed of this lack of progress.

"Is that all you can say?" Tsunade slowly said, her voice trembling as she struggled to contain her rage.

Ki-Adi-Mundi nodded grimly. _"What makes matters worse, my Lady, is that we are finding ourselves unable to find him through the Force. It must be the work of the Sith, using the Dark Side to mask his presence."_

"Bullshit!" Tsunade slammed her hand onto her desk, the wood cracking from her fury. "My men were able to extract some names from the dead mercenaries in the forest. What about the names of the bounty hunters we gave you?! Cad Bane? Jango Fett? Aurra Sing? Zam Wesell? How are you people so incapable of finding criminals with high profiles like these?!"

_"Ma'am,"_ Master Windu quickly stepped in, trying to become the mediator to deescalate the situation. _"I know this looks bad, but we assure you that we are doing everything in our power to retrieve the boy."_

"Right." Tsunade clenched her teeth, her desk groaning and cracking from under her fingers, which was noticed by Yoda. "I can tell, by the way that you're sitting in your comfortable chairs."

"Ma'am-"

"NO! Enough of this! Enough 'meditating' and 'using the Force' to look for my godson! You all need to get up, and search every goddamn planet if you have to! Kami damn the fact that I can't fly your stupid ships yet, otherwise I would do this myself!"

The Hokage's outburst made them flinch. This type of reaction to them wasn't exactly new, and they understood her anger completely. They could only hope that they could do their best to keep her satisfied, since failures like these was part of the reason to why some planets reconsidered their place in the Republic, or even worse, deciding to join the Confederacy. The planet was already divided enough was it was, with the entire planet being cut into two political camps, similar to how Earth currently is.

"Angry you are, we can understand." Yoda spoke to her with an apologetic tone. "Continue this conversation, we shall do later."

_"Agreed."_ Windu said, nodding to his master. _"We'll speak to you later, my Lady." _

The transmission then shut off, just as the door opened, and in walked in her long-time friend, Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya, what now?" Tsunade sighed, and Jiraiya flinched at how much older she suddenly sounded. She slumped back into her seat, the metal chair creaking and groaning from the sudden shift of her weight. "I've got enough on my head now with all of this-"

"Do you remember that offer the Republic and the Feudal Lords gave me?" Jiraiya interrupted, which made her look up at him. "I said no."

"No?" Tsunade questioned. "Then who are they going to pick to be our senator? And what are you going to do instead?"

"I'm going to leave Elementia to travel across the galaxy." Jiraiya stated, surprising both of them. "I'm taking all of my funds, and I'm going to search every kami-forsaken planet for our godson. I'm going to establish my intelligence across the systems, and I'm going to make sure that I have eyes and ears everywhere."

"And as for your first question, well, our Feudal Lord picked Gaara as the senator for the Republic side of Elementia."

"That kid?" Tsunade raised her eyebrow. "Awfully young, wouldn't you say?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "Old enough to kill, old enough to be a senator. Besides, I rejected the offer, and you're too busy being the Hokage, and we don't really have that many strong allies to be the Republican senator of our planet." "

He paused to drink some water, before he continued.

"By the way, in case you were wondering, Mei Terumī, the newest Kage for Kiri, just became the senator for the Separatist part of Elementia, while Mifune became the neutral senator. Can't blame Mei if you ask me, since the Republic wasn't much help during the conflict. While the Republic sent minimal supplies, the Separatists sent an army of those droids to help with not just the war, but with reconstruction as well."

Tsunade rolled her eyes back with a sigh, groaning as she slumped into her chair. All this politics, old and new, was wearing her down, and she really needed a break from all the bullshit that was going on.

Yoda, seeing as how the woman needed to be left alone for a minute, turned towards Jiraiya. "Leave, when will you?"

"I'm heading out tomorrow." Jiraiya said, his eyes hardened with determination. "My godson's out there somewhere, and he's been all alone for too long. Thanks to the senators and even some of the Jedi, I learned about space travel, and how to keep undercover."

"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Tsunade asked her friend. "I can give you a team to help you on your way."

"Thanks Tsunade, but no, I can't risk getting too much attention. I'll need to keep a low profile, especially since we have no idea what the Akatsuki's up to."

"A wise move, that would be." Yoda nodded in agreement. "Many steps ahead of them, we must be. Capture Hagamoro's children, they must not."

A few months ago, the topic of the missing-nin group was brought up when Yoda showed Tsunade and Jiraiya in private his Memory Holocron. The minute they realized that Yoda actually had a good relationship with the bijuu, they decided that it was important to discuss the issues with the Akatsuki. They had no idea exactly why they wanted the jinchuuriki, with only theories and rumors to base their assumptions with, but the minute they realized the origin of the bijuu, it suddenly made sense to why they wanted to collect all 9 jinchuurikis.

Their brief conversation was cute short by the knocking on the door.

"Come in." The door slowly swung open, revealing the elder nurse, who quickly recovered from the stun bolt.

"Lady Tsunade." The nurse bowed. "Lady Shizune asked me to inform you that Kakashi Hatake and the other shinobi are waking up.."

Sighing from relief, Tsunade stood up, a small smile greeting the nurse. "Thank you for the update. You may now return to your station."

"Yes, my lady." The nurse bowed again, before closing the door behind her. After that, Tsunade moved to grab her coat.

"It's time to speak with Kakashi," She says being halfway done "Any information he has we'll need to know if we want to find Naruto."

"I'll head out soon, then." Jiraiya said. He and Tsunade gave each other a quick hug, before they broke apart. He placed something onto her hand, and she realized that it was a small, metal disk; his personal holopad.

"Be careful, Jiraiya. Please promise me that." Tsunade asked, her lips tightly pressed together as she held back tears, afraid to show her fear of possibly losing another loved one.

"I promise, Tsunade," Jiraiya nodded, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I'm not going to die until I bring our godson back home."

It was a simple promise. A promise that both of them knew that he could fail at. They knew very well that he might search for the rest of his life, and he may never even hear about their godson. Still, it was enough for Tsunade to finally let go of her friend.

Jiraiya gave her one last smile, before he bowed his head.

POOF!

A puff of smoke erupted from the spot where the white-haired man once stood. It cleared away within seconds, leaving nothing behind, but a hint of used chakra, which only Yoda was able to detect.

"Body Flicker Technique." Tsunade explained to Yoda. "We use some of our chakra to move quickly from one place to another."

"I see." Yoda nodded, the technique reminding him of Force Speed. Noticing that Tsunade was walking away (no doubt that it was to attend to the recent patients), he decided to join her for the walk.

"Strange, Master Jiraiya is." Yoda commented.

"Hmm?" Tsunade turned to the small Jedi. "What do you mean?"

"Hatred and despair, often felt in distressed families. Sense this in Master Jiraiya, I could not." Yoda explained, being slightly surprised by the Sannin's unusually calm emotions.

Tsunade chuckled at this, her small laughter lacking in humor or life.

"Believe me, that's just his way of coping with loss." Tsunade sighed. "Over the years, we lost a lot of loved ones. Friends, families, potential apprentices. All of them died from the wars this country has been through, with many of them not even making it to twenty. Hell, Jiraiya rescued three orphans from the battlefield, and trained them to the best he could. Then one day, he finds out that they were all killed by the same enemy that _we_ barely survived from. If I need to be honest with you, there's times when he drank a lot more than I did."

Yoda's ears drooped as he heard Jiraiya's tragic tale. As shortened as it was, the feelings of loss and sorrow was not minimized, with Yoda not needing to use the Force to feel the pain coming from the story.

It was then that Yoda wondered if the man's perverted actions was merely a way for him to cope with his loss.

"Strength of a Jedi, he clearly shows. But restraint, not as much."

"Pff, you don't have to be a monk to figure him out." Tsunade remarked with a chuckle walking passed the Jedi. "Come on, old man. Let's head to the infirmary."

…

**[Konoha - Hospital]**

Shizune was fumbling with a large, rectangular device in her hands. The protocol droid following her had explained to her about the functions of her new datapad. Despite how bulky it was, and despite how confusing _as hell_ it was, it was admittedly a huge step up from the usual large folders and papers. For one, it made gathering and storing data that much more faster and safer, especially since the datapad was highly water resistant, and clumsy drops would do nothing to damage the device. Hell, putting your foot through the gadget would only destroy the machine itself, but not the data, with the data being safely stored in multiple chips around the machine.

Despite the comedic show that Shizune was putting on, those that were close to her would know that her bashful grin was hiding a far more tragic expression. The minute she was fully healed, she had heard the terrible news that had befallen the village. The minute she heard that Naruto Uzumaki, the blond, goofy boy that she was beginning to see as a little brother, was kidnapped, she bursted into tears, feeling partially responsible for the entire mess.

She was a proud kunoichi of Konoha, a strong woman who was taught by Tsunade Senju herself about the art of medicine, and yet, she was ambushed so easily by the group of men and women, with the last thing she saw was the skinwalker taking her form and her clothes.

When she woke up, her body felt weak, with her limbs bound together by some rope. It was honestly a miracle that she managed to get the door opened, with her needing to constantly slam her body and head to break the closet door down. It was also a miracle that someone had found her, which lead to them going after the intruders.

Bound, bruised, and nearly nude, knowing that she had finally alerted the village, she allowed herself to pass out, hoping with all her might that nothing would happen to the village, and that the intruders will be apprehended swiftly. Imagine her shame when she awoke to find out that not only a few shinobi had perished, but multiple buildings were demolished, with many more being on fire. To make matters worse, they had successfully kidnapped Naruto, with the strange, shapeshifting being using her form to make it happen.

_'No.'_ Shizune shook her head. _'I can't focus on my failure now. I need to help my patients.'_ Stopping for a moment to put on an assuring smile, she opened the door.

Shizune's face contorted as she took a minute to adjust to the sharp smell that stabbed into her brain.

"Ugh, I guess the cleaning droids were here recently." Shizune muttered.

While she was no stranger to the smell of blood, death, and sterilized rooms and hallways, this new chemical the Republic introduced was far stronger than the ones they used to clean the hallways. She had to take a moment to remind herself that this chemical, despite how harsh it smelled, was safe to use, as evident by the fact that this sterilizing fluid was used by many laboratories across the galaxy.

Shaking her head, she continued to walk down the clean hallway, which was bustling with visitors being desperate to visit their patients. This included one of the young genins, who was hurt in an explosion caused by one of the bounty hunters. Shizune decided to walk a little faster, afraid that the parents would come out of the room any minute, and unleash their grief onto her.

"Shizune."

The woman stiffened, before turning around to see her master arrive.

"Lady Tsunade, Master Yoda." Shizune bowed at them, grateful to see them again.

"Kakashi. Where is he?" Tsunade said roughly.

"R-right." Shizune cleared her throat. "He was just discharged from his bacta bath, my lady. I told him to take it easy for a while, but he insisted on talking with you."

"Important, this must be." Yoda noted. "Hurry, we should."

"Knowing Hatake, whatever he needs to say is important." Tsunade nodded. "Let's not make him wait."

…

**[Hatake's Room]**

Kakashi Hatake was lying on his bed, his uncovered eye staring blankly at the white ceiling. The birds chirped happily in the background, ignorant or uncaring of the chaos that had been plaguing the village for some time.

Absent-mindedly, his hand slowly brushed over his stomach, where it was heavily damaged from the ship's cannon-fire. The mercenaries, despite having no chakra, still proved to be a dangerous foes, as proven by their willingness to go all out to fulfill their mission. Kakashi was unfortunately enough to not get away from the ship fast enough, being the most reluctant to leave the area despite the rain of blaster-bolts threatening to blast them to pieces.

His stubbornness had costed him, with one of the cannon-bolts exploding just meters from him. His eardrums had ruptured, and his stomach was burnt and shredded as he flew backwards like a ragdoll. According to the medical droids and the doctors, he was close to death's door, but it was thanks to Tsunade herself that he lived to fight another day.

Still, he was forced to be submerged in the bacta tank, which greatly accelerated his healing.

If Kakashi was honest, though, a part of him wanted to die. He had failed to save his comrade, once again, and now Naruto, his student, and the son of the two people he looked up to, was gone, kidnapped by a group of thugs to kami-knows-where.

Kakashi's thoughts were interrupted when the door opened, with his visitors quietly entering his room. He relaxed as he realized it was Asuma, Kurenai, Gai, and the remaining members of Team 7, Sakura Haruno and - surprisingly, Sasuke Uchiha. The said Uchiha was in handcuffs, his seal still restricting his chakra, with Anko Mitarashi keeping a close eye on him.

"Kakashi…"

He stared at his visitors for a moment so he could see them clearly, before staring back at the ceiling. He seemed dead to the world, wallowing in his failures, unable to see his friends and colleagues around him.

Sakura ended up being the first one to approach her sensei's side, gently touching his hand to try to comfort him.

"Kakashi-Sensei…"

"Sakura." Her old teacher slowly nodded at her, before his head slowly moved towards the others. "Asuma. Kurenai. Gai."

"Save your strength, Kakashi." Asuma held up his hand to stop him from getting up. "You shouldn't even be talking right now. You need to be resting."

"What happened?" Kakashi grunted, slowly rising like a zombie. He groaned as his bones and muscles screamed in protest, but he ignored them. "What happened after I blacked out?"

"We were dragged back by the rest of the ANBU." Kurenai said, her hand clutching at her arm. "We were treated for our wounds, and whoever was well enough had to help out the civilians. All things considering, some of us got it easy. I mean, Yūgao's still in her bed."

"Is she going to make it?"

"...She'll be fine." Asuma said after a minute-too-long hesitation. "I mean, the cannon-fire took out her leg, but fortunately, the medical droids were able to give her a prosthetic. She'll be fine after some rest...and therapy."

"Damn it." Kakashi's singular eye shut in sorrow, his heart broken after hearing about her devastating wounds. "And the others? What about them?"

This time, it was Gai's turn to deliver the news.

"Most of them are fine." He said. "Some didn't make it, but others...will be fine after some time. Thankfully, it's mostly just severe blaster burns, but nothing that Tsunade's personal healers can't fix."

Despite hearing about her team's loss, Kakashi finally allowed himself to relax a little, choosing this time to try to focus on the brighter side. Still, his fists clenched as he began to imagine Yūgao's expression at hearing the loss of her team members - men and women alike that fought alongside her for almost over a decade.

Anko closed her eyes, finding herself for once, unable to watch someone in pain. "It's no use, Kakashi. What's done is done."

"But still, those mercenaries who attacked our village are still at large."

"We took out some of them." Asuma quickly informed him. "Inoichi was able to salvage some intel from the dead mercenaries, which include the names of the others."

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "Who are they?"

"Don't even think about it, Kakashi." Anko warned him. "You just avoided dying like three times this week, so don't think about getting revenge now."

But Kakashi wouldn't listen, and struggled to get up. "Damn it, just tell me their names."

The door slid open.

"Kakashi-Sensei." Sakura pleaded. "Please, think about-"

"You heard her, Hatake. Stay down."

Everyone turned towards the door to see Lady Tsunade and Master Yoda enter the room, their presence causing them to fall into silence.

She walked in and saw that he was halfway out of his bed. "You better get back in your bed, Hatake. I won't say it again."

Kakashi glared at her in slight defiance, before he sighed, allowing his body to slump back into bed. The small, green Jedi walked up to the middle of the room to face the bed.

"I've been told that you wanted to speak to me." Tsunade said to the patient. "So speak."

"When can I get out?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at his question. "I will say about a week. Why?"

"To find Naruto, of course." Kakashi replied a little too calmly. "I need to find him."

"Kakashi, you _need_ to wait." Asuma tried to reason with him. "We don't even know where to begin, since he could literally be anywhere in the galaxy-"

Kakashi's eye narrowed into a glare as he stared at the bearded shinobi, and suddenly, the room grew colder.

"Are you telling me to give up, Asuma?" He growled.

That's when Kurenai decided to jump in to Asuma's defense. "No, Kakashi. He's just saying that we can't just jump into this without a plan. Like he said, we have no idea where Naruto even is, and we need to gain intel first before we jump into action."

"And what? You expect me to do nothing but just lay here and sleep like nothing's happening? I _need_ to be out there, looking for him, before kami-knows what they're going to do to him!"

That's when Gai decided to jump in as well. "I know that you want to find Naruto, but like what everyone's saying, you _need_ to rest. Your body is barely well enough for you to even run right now. And besides, the Uzumaki boy will be fine. You know how he i-"

"Your student Lee's fine now, isn't he?" Kakashi shot back. "He had most of his body crushed, but he's well enough to run laps."

"Don't change the subject, Kakashi." Gai held his ground.

"You're right." Kakashi muttered. "We're only talking about the legacy of the-"

"Kakashi, not here." Kurenai said, stopping him. "Don't mention _that_ in front of the genin."

Meanwhile, while the older shinobi was bickering amongst themselves, Sasuke's face was growing more shadowed by his hair, his hands clenching as he continued to hear them mention the blond's name.

"Enough already!" Tsunade barked out. "We have no reason to argue amongst ourselves about Naruto. Actions are already being taken."

"Then why are we kept out of it?!"

Everyone stopped as they turned to face Sasuke.

Anko narrowed her eyes as she placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Hey kid, keep your mouth shut, or else-"

"It's been three weeks already." The Uchiha ignored her words. "Why is it that nobody has been doing anything by now? Damn the fact that we don't know where they are, we at least have the names of these intruders!"

"Like you're one to talk, kid." Asuma glared at the kid. "Couple months ago, you tried to turn to Orochimaru, which led to your fellow teammates to be critically injured by his goons." Although Asuma didn't like to show it, he held bitter feelings for the Uchiha, who was partially responsible for Choji having to go through intensive care.

"Never mind that for now." Sasuke glared back at him. "I just want to know what are you guys going to do about Naruto, now? That's all I wanna know!"

"And why do you care, brat?" Anko got in his face. "For all I know, you just want to finish the job."

"Why would I kill someone who I consider my FRIEND!?"

This sudden outburst caught everyone off guard, who knew the Uchiha as the lone wolf ever since his clan's massacre. Yoda raised his eyebrow at this.

"Back at the valley, I was just about to cross the border without a second thought." Sasuke admitted. "The only thing I cared about was gaining the power I needed to kill my brother. In that moment, I was sure that nothing else mattered. Unless we fought."

Sasuke looked down as he clenched his hands, being brought back to that moment in the valley.

"We were evenly matched, with neither of us winning or losing the fight. I told him that I was going to kill him to make my eyes stronger. But even then, he refused to back down, telling me that he would bring me back here, no matter what."

The room was in complete silence as even Anko was unable to speak a word. Sasuke, for the first time in two months, began to speak about what had happened. Not wanting to resort to torture, since Sasuke appeared to just be in shock, Inoichi had tried to use his family's techniques to pry into his mind, but the cursed seal made him abort the process, due to the first thing he saw was Orochimaru's twisted form. For the past two months, they couldn't get him to utter a single word about what had happened...until now.

"He refused to give up on me." Sasuke continued. "No matter how many times I hurt him, no matter how many times I knocked him down, he kept on getting up again. Even after I ran my Chidori through him again, he just kept getting back up..."

The Uchiha then fell into silence as his eyes grew hazy, falling back into that moment. His head began to slump downwards, until Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Sasuke, what did Naruto do or say to you that changed your mind?"

The raven-haired teen scoffed to himself. "He reminded me that I had everything he doesn't. That I was lucky to had parents that loved me, and that there were others in this village that cared about me." Much to their surprise, he let out a sad chuckle. "The loser always did know how to speak to people."

This, once again, made the room fall into stunned silence as the usually stoic and now traitorous Uchiha was showing signs of guilt, making even the skeptical start to wonder if he truly had changed for the better.

"I was stupid." Sasuke admitted to the group. "I was so focused on what I lost that I forgot about what I still had. Naruto literally had to beat that reminder into me before I realized it."

"Blinded, you were."

Everyone's attention was now pulled towards Yoda, who had spoken for the first time in those few minutes.

"Blinded by hatred, you were. Common it is, among victims. It is." Yoda said, joining the conversation. "Losing family, painful it always is. Controlling your emotions, difficult it is."

Not being able to fully process the thought of being spoken to by an alien for the first time, he could only say, "Yeah, I guess so."

Sasuke frowned as he was brought back into his memories. Out of nowhere, he began to shudder.

"Disturbed, you are." Yoda pointed out. "Why, might I ask?"

"...There was something else that happened." Sasuke recalled. "Right when we clashed for the last time, I-I think I felt Naruto's emotions."

"Felt his emotions, you say?" Yoda raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. At that moment, I...I just felt everything Naruto felt. His anger. His sadness. His hatred. And everything else."

Sasuke then looked at his right hand, which had healed up quite nicely. Still, it would twitch from time to time; a reminder of the damage done to it.

"But then there's more. In that moment when I felt his emotions, I think mine came out too. Just everything that I've bottled up and everything that I've already been feeling just came out of me. And...I think my Chidori got stronger in that moment."

Already armed with the knowledge of the technique, Yoda stroked his chin, before he turned to the Hokage. "Lady Tsunade, a blood sample of this entire village, may I have?"

This earned him an odd look from the blonde. "What for, if I may ask?"

"Test something, I must do." Yoda answered, taking a quick glance at the Uchiha. "More mysteries, this planet has to offer."

"...Yeah, sure. I can arrange that."

This made them all stare at their leader, puzzled at why she would grant the stranger such a suspicious request.

"This keeps getting weirder and weirder." Sakura said, her words voicing the thoughts of the rest of them.

* * *

**[Kamino]**

Boba chewed his lip as he put down his father's blasters. Grabbing a wet towel to wipe his hands, he examined the disassembled weapon, before nodding in dull satisfaction.

Despite the job being well done, he still felt nervous, due to his father still being inside the bacta tank.

Entering the living room was Cad Bane, who was looking as miffed as ever, as he was just done talking to the owner of their temporary homes.

"Tall, pale pricks." The duros grumbled, sitting across the young human. "Trying to pick us for everything we have with their damn rent."

"Hey, Bane." Boba replied to him respectfully. "Having problems with the Kaminoans?"

"I don't trust them for a bit, Boba." The bounty hunter's eyes gazed around the room, searching for any visible cameras. "I'm curious, child. How _do_ you stay so calm in a place like this?"

"By helping around usually, or cleaning my dad's weapons." Boba said, using a towel to clean his father's other blaster. "There Isn't much to do here on Kamino, honestly."

"You tell me, kid."

The door then slid open, getting the two to turn towards it. In walked in Aurra, who was helping Jango limp towards them. In contrast to Aurra, Jango was in his casual outfit.

"Dad." Boba quickly walked up to him as the Mandalorian was set onto the couch bed.

"Easy Boba, he still needs rest." Aurra warned him. "Here, lay down."

"Thanks…" Jango grunted, before turning to his son. "Boba."

"Yes, Dad?"

"I'll be fine." Jango smiled at him. "Nothing some bacta can't fix."

Jango realized that Boba's frown was still on his face, so he continued. "Here, can you go get us something to eat?"

"Sure."

Jango turned to Sing. "Can you follow Boba? You can go get something for yourself as well."

"What, I'm your maid girl now?" Aurra smirked, before tapping on Boba's head. "C'mon, kiddo. Let's go give the big boys some privacy."

The two quickly exited the room, leaving Jango and Bane on their own.

"I'm curious, Jango," Bane spat out the toothpick he was chewing on. "When are you going to tell the others about your past? Especially your kid, Boba?"

"Later." The human bounty hunter sighed. Grabbing the box of pills from the nightstand, he popped them into his mouth, swallowing them dry. "For now, though, there's a few things I need to talk about."

"You're still thinking about that kid? Get over it." Bane snorted, leaving over on his chair. "We've got our credits, and our employer was generous enough to understand the situation. So what's the issue?"

Jango didn't answer, his eyes narrowing as he was lost in thought. Without warning, he hopped out of his bed, and walked towards the table to where Bane was sitting, where his helmet rested. Glancing at the t-visor, which seemed to be staring at him, he placed his hand over the silver helmet. His knuckles whitened as he began to grip onto it furiously.

"Bane."

The duros looked at him, his nonexistent eyebrow now raised.

"I need you to do me a favor."

…

Walking back to their new room, Aurra and Boba ran across Zam, who was also getting some food.

"I'm still surprised, honestly." Zam said, opening the door for them. "From being chased by those ninja-like warriors, to escaping a firefight between the slavers and the pirates, to being stuck on this planet for weeks. Not exactly what I thought would happen from taking that job."

"That's just the life of a bounty hunter." Aurra chuckled. "It's full of the unexpected. You'll get used to it."

"They're gone again." Boba nearly shouted, their conversation coming to a halt. They took a look around their room, and it was indeed empty.

"Huh, where'd they go?" Zam's eyes scanned the room for the two male bounty hunters. Looking around, the room was indeed empty, save for them and Boba, who was walking up the table. He picked up something, which turned out to be a piece of paper..

Aurra took a look in the storage room, and saw that it was empty too. "Jango's gear is gone, and by the looks of it, his weapons too."

_Dear Boba,_ Jango's son read. _Sorry that Bane and I had to leave. I just needed to check on something. I promise that I'll be back soon. Aurra and Zam will stay with you. From, your dad._

The two female bounty hunters expected him to be frustrated, but Boba just sighed, before grabbing a seat.

Funny enough, Zam appeared to be more frustrated with their sudden disappearance than Boba was. "Bastards."

Aurra just chuckled. "Well, you know how they are. All work, no play. Now, come on. We can have fun without them."

* * *

**[_Slave I_]**

The _Slave I_ was already leaving Kamino's orbit, with its pilot currently preparing for the jump to hyperspace. Sitting next to the said pilot was Bane, who, while annoyed at the sudden trip, was also curious to where this was going.

"You sure you're good enough to fly?" The blue bounty hunter asked. "I'd rather not go on this sudden field trip to who-knows-where, only to die because you can't dodge an asteroid in time."

"I'm fine." Jango answered while punching in the coordinates. "The painkillers are doing their jobs, so I can use my arms just fine."

"I'm not the one that likes asking a lot of questions, but are you sure it's a good idea to go back to that planet?"

"There's a place described only in the ancient legends of our people that I had forgotten about." Jango said. "If that place does exist on that planet, then some of the answers I'm looking for should be there."

"If you say so." Cad Bane sighed.

"I know so, Bane." Jango nodded to himself. "I know so." He then punched in the last of the buttons, and the hyperdrive began to start up.

_'I swear, I'll make it up to you, Jareel. You and everyone else.'_

The ship jumped into hyperspace, blasting them back to the planet Elementia.

* * *

**[Kessel - Ölüm]**

It was another summer day on Kessel. Not a cloud was in sight, with both the slaves and the slavers alike being roasted under the merciless sun. As usual, without the Republic breathing down the necks of the Pykes and the Zygerrians, both criminal factions were free to operate their spie mining.

Despite the heat, however, the slavers themselves weren't complaining very much. After all, they were inside of their luxurious offices/homes, with clean, filtered air filling their lungs, and with the slaves fanning them to keep them cool.

The slaves, however, were not so fortunate.

TWACK!

A large, curved, thin blade pierced a large boulder. The cracks spread like wildfire, before it disintegrated, causing a cloud of red dust to cover the hole of the tunnel they were digging.

*Cough!* *Cough!* *Cough!* *Cough!*

A human man stumbled through the dust cloud. Under layers of dirt and red dust was fairly brown skin, with the man sprouting course, oily hair. His face was mostly covered with a small green and white cloth, which helped filter the dangerous clouds and fumes that filled the small tunnel.

"Ya Ibn el Sharmouta!" The man cursed in Arabic. "Could've warned me this boulder would just fall apart." He coughed a couple of times more while leaning his hand against the wall.

Patting the guy's back was another human, whose skin, despite the dust and their miserable state, seemed to glow in comparison to the Arabian.

"Take it easy Tarik, you'll drop dead if you keep this up." He pulled out his small canteen of water - one of the little luxuries those slavers allowed them to have.

Tarik took a moment to move out of the tunnel, gasping for fresher air, before accepting the canteen.

"Thanks, Adrik."

"My pleasure."

They heard light footsteps approaching them, and they relaxed, seeing how it was Naruto.

Naruto Uzumaki, whose eyes were once full of life and hope, was now reduced to a squinted glare, his eyes now narrow and always on guard. The dulled, blue orbs glanced at the two men, and they softened for a moment, before he walked into their tunnel, holding a flashlight with fresh new batteries.

They offered him some of their water, and after the teen took a moment to wipe his dusty hands on his tattered shirt (which he pilfered from a dead slave), he accepted the water.

"We close yet?" He grunted. They shrugged, and then the boy glanced at the tunnel, before sighing with relief.

"Good. Found it." He muttered to himself, glad to know that those harsh days of back-breaking work had finally paid off. "Guys, we found it!"

Tarik took his flashlight, and aimed it at the dark. A small smile was brought onto their faces as the beam of light revealed the mineshaft they were looking for.

"You sure this is the one?" Tarik asked cautiously.

"Well, I don't see the lights being on." Naruto snarked.

"Still, I want to be sure." Tarik said, pulling out a glow stick and breaking it, before throwing it as far as he could. The rediscovered mineshaft was filled with green light as the stick flew through into the collapsed shaft.

"Pretty sure that's it." Naruto grinned.

"Finally." Adrik groaned with relief, wiping the sweat off his forehead, before he turned to leave with his friend. Naruto stared into the dimly-lit darkness for a moment, before he turned around, picking up their forgotten pickaxe to join them.

If they were lucky, maybe today's food would have less mold and dust on it than usual.

…

**(Mess Hall)**

The Mess Hall was a large, yet cramped area for where the slaves go to eat. This one in particular was one of the three that existed in the mines, with the fourth one being destroyed long ago by a mining accident.

The tables, which were rusty and ancient, sat tightly packed together in an effort to conserve some space. They were currently filled with people of all races and species, which included Naruto and his two friends who just sat down to eat their food - or what they can afford to call it in their situation.

Adrik poked at the sludge in his tray with his spoon, frowning when he found something hard. Scooping it up, it looked to be a claw of an animal. "What the hell is this?"

"I think it's a part of a bird." A random Rodian slave answered helpfully. "Just try to imagine it's something else."

Shaking his head, Adrik grabbed it with his hands, and nibbled on the fleshy parts of it. Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, Tarik was making a small prayer, his hands left open as he was reciting verses of the scripture from his religious text. Tarik was a religious Urzik Muslim, who would often recite quotes from his holy book, or would just pray in his prison cell while the others slept.

"Ameen." Tarik concluded his prayer, before closing the book, putting it away. He finally grabbed his fork to eat, when he took a look at his blond friend. "Hey Naruto, you alright?"

Naruto was blankly staring at his tray with an empty gaze, slowly eating his meal while taking slow, careful sips of his water. He seemed deaf to the world, not having said even a single word to any of them ever since they started eating.

"Naruto." Adrik snapped his fingers twice in front of the blond. "The Imam asked you something."

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?" Tarik said to the Russian. "I just read the Quran often when I'm free."

"Yo, Tarik." A random man walked past Naruto, tapping Tarik on the back. "The third drill's out of commission again. It overheated itself, and now the cooler's busted. Mind repairing it?"

Tarik, who was assigned as one of the drill operators of the lower levels, also happened to be a good mechanic, who was tasked to help with mechanical repairs. This earned him plenty of respect from both the slaves and the slavers, since they got to save money and equipment.

"Sure. I'll have to ask permission first. Our crew is busy working on that mineshaft that broke down a few weeks ago."

"The Supervisor already gave you permission. Add to note, he also wants you to cut your breaks to avoid any more problems with those Zygs."

The man then left, leaving a frustrated Tarik behind.

"Fuck me..." Tarik pinched his nose and let out a groan. "Fucking taking away my fucking break? I swear that the damn Supervisor's testing me."

"Eh, don't worry about it. They'll give you shit no matter what happens, so just finish your food, and then get back to work." Adrik shrugged, before going back to his meal.

"Hey."

Naruto looked up from his meal, and internally groaned as he saw a familiar pair of slender legs. His eyes being wise enough to not linger in that area, he looked up to see the familiar dull color of beskar armor.

SLAM!

They flinched as she slammed her tray in the middle of the two, gaining them a lot of attention.

Naruto tried to look up at the girl, only to feel something being dumped onto his head. He licked at the wet sludge that ran down his face, and realized that it was his food.

This got some whistles and gasps from the other slaves, whose attention was now turned towards the two's confrontation, which, while not news, was certainly the drama that everyone was interested in.

Naruto just sighed, being quite used to her behavior at this point, and just looked up at her. "Sabine…"

The black haired girl just glared at him, before grabbing his cup, pouring its contents all over his head to finish the job, completely soaking his already-dirtied shirt, alongside his hair and face. She then threw the cup onto his lap, before grabbing her tray, stomping away.

"Hey! What's your problem?!" Adrik stood up, yelling at her as she continued to walk away. "I'm speaking to you, сука!"

"Leave it, Adrik." Naruto said to the Russian, waving it off while removing his shirt to try to dry it. "Just ignore her, I'm already used to it."

Tarik shook his head. "I don't get it. What have you done to piss her off?"

Rolling his eyes Naruto answered, "Apparently when I told her my last name, it got her pretty angry. She slapped me, called me a poser, then walked away."

"What? Just Uzumaki? Your family got beef with hers or something?"

"That I don't know." Naruto said, shaking his head. "I don't even know who my parents were. I have been an orphan since the day I was born." Naruto's face tightened into a scowl as he twisted his shirt one final time, wringing out any remaining water in it.

"Sorry to hear that, my friend." Tarik bowed his head in sympathy. Knowing full well the horrors and struggles of a soldier, he had his fair share of meeting those without parents, whose lives were lost on the battlefield, be it a fellow warrior or an innocent bystander.

"Well, life is a journey of hardship, my friends." Adrik said to them. "From that you'll become stronger, and I can assure you that with that patience of yours, you'll become what's worth of you."

"Thanks, Adrik." Naruto shook his hand. "I appreciate that."

"I gotta go now." Tarik said, pushing his tray in front of Naruto "Here, take mine, you'll need it."

"Hey man, I-"

"Just take it, brother. A life worth living is a life with giving. " Tarik said with a smile, patting the blonde's shoulder. "I'll be fine, you just make sure to have something in your stomach. I'll see you later."

Leaving the table for his next assignment, Naruto and Adrik were left by themselves to try and finish eating their food.

It would be ten more minutes before they would be close to finishing their meal.

"Ain't wasting this for sure." Naruto stated, pouring the remaining water into his own flask.

"Smart kid." Recognizing that voice, Naruto turned around to see Zeb standing there.

"Zeb," Naruto stood up, slapping hands with the lasat. "You just finished your shift?"

"Sure did, kid." The lasat said. He frowned when he finally noticed the mess on Naruto. "What happened?"

"Sabine Wren." He shrugged, nodding to where she was sitting with the other female slaves.

"Her again?" Zeb asked, shaking his head. "You know, that brat's got a problem with you, but I just don't know why."

TRIIIIIING!

A loud, ear-piercing alarm rang, signalling the end of Naruto's break. "Well, gotta get back to work. See you later, Zeb." Naruto said, patting the Lasat on his back before picking up his tray and walking towards the exit.

"See ya, kid." Zeb said as he walked over to the others to take his break.

…

Walking outside of the mess hall, Naruto entered an outdoor corridor, which bordered the edges of the mine. Sticking his head out, he looked up to see the top of the sinkhole, watching the transport ships coming in and out, no doubt dropping off and collecting slaves and spice for their twisted business.

Naruto clenched his hands as he thought about the many slaves that perished daily. He flinched as he watched countless bodies fall down into the bottom of the sinkhole. Those were the slaves that died from dehydration, malnutrition, or from various accidents, but their slavers weren't very concerned, since there was a lot more from where they came from.

He shook his head. He couldn't think about them now. For now, the only thing the Leaf Shinobi could do was to try to survive.

* * *

**[Coruscant - Jedi Temple]**

Master Plo Koon, Shaak Ti, and Mace Windu sat in the Council chamber, talking to the holographic image of Grand Master Yoda. He had just contacted them, telling them about his sudden decision to test some of the Elementian children's blood for Midichlorians.

"Master Yoda, are you sure that the results of those two are correct?" Master Plo Koon pleaded for clarification.

_"Incorrect, the test never is."_ Master Yoda replied. _"Hyuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, force sensitive, they both are. High midichlorian count, they both possess."_

"But this can't be." Shaak Ti was flabbergasted at the results, staring at it again. "Their midichlorian count rivals yours, Master Yoda. This can't be a coincidence!"

Master Windu, who was silent up until now, decided to finally speak his thoughts. "What would you suggest, Master Yoda?"

_"Bring them to the Temple, we must."_ Yoda said without hesitating. _"Train them in the way of the Force, we will. Too dangerous to leave them alone, it is."_

"What about the council?" Plo Koon brought up. "These two children are even older than Anakin was when we took _him_ in. Surely the rest of us will reject them."

_"Special training, receive they will. Necessary, it will be." _Yoda answered, looking at the Togruta Jedi._ "Master Shaak Ti, teach the Hyuga girl, you will. Shy she is, but strong and determined, she also is."_

Master Shaak Ti bowed to the grand master. "I will be pleased to do so, Master."

"Who will teach the boy then?" Plo Koon asked. "Finding the right master for this boy will be crucial if we are to stop his darkness from spreading."

Yoda and Windu took one look at each other, and instantly knew who would be the best one suited for this task.

This did not go unnoticed by Plo Koon, as he asked, "Who do you have in mind, Master?"

"Who do you have in mind, Master?"

"Someone who we both know, Master Plo." Mace Windu said solemnly.

* * *

**[Ölüm]**

The sun was growing lower for the spice planet, which meant the end of another day of mining for the slaves. They were being escorted back to their cells, which many were more than happy to hurry back. Not only were they done with the work and the abuse, but the metal beds were limited, which meant that the unlucky ones had to sleep under the beds or on the floors, which wasn't very comfortable (even though the beds themselves weren't that much better.)

TCHK!

A small ball of light was ignited as one of the slaves lit their lighter. Pulling out a cigarette, which was smuggled inside by one of the newest slaves, he lit the tip, before beginning to smoke it. The said smoker was a young man with the same skin tone as Tarik, but hailed from a different country.

Slowly sucking in the cigarette before slowly breathing it out through his mouth, he continued his story.

"So like I was saying, I used to work in the oil refinery with my father in Ra's Lanuf as a transporter, but when the civil war came along, we all got caught in the crossfire. Most fled the town, mostly towards Egypt or if lucky, Tunisia. Many died in the firefights and the bombardments, and the others went missing, like my father and three of my uncles."

He paused for a moment to take another smoke, before he continued. "After the war ended, I went back into my town to try to find some work. Couldn't find any, since the refinery was blown to hell, so I hooked up with some oil smugglers, who did business from Egypt to Algeria to even Sudan."

The current speaker was Ibrahim Rida, a new slave that was native to Libya. He was forced to work as a driver for the spice transport wagons, which collected all of the harvest spice, before being brought up to the load up point. Despite the situation, however, he was crafty enough to smuggle a few things inside of the mines, which instantly gained some respect and some favors from his fellow slaves.

Handing over the cigarette to Adrik, he began to wrap up his story. "I was doing this from 2012 to like 2014. Made a good fortune of bringing oil to the black market."

"How'd you manage to cross those borders? I thought they closed them down when the war began." Tarik asked his fellow Arab while sitting on the bunk bed with Adrik, who would hand him the smoke once he was done with it.

"Oh that? Psh, that was easy. Just wait till it's dark, then the guard's will be easier to avoid. Besides, even if they catch you, just throw them a small bribe, and they'll usually look the other way, since they're not very interested in stopping fuel tanks if they get something out of it." Ibrahim shrugged. "The fact that they usually got their own kids to feed helps, so I make sure to give them a thousand diran each. Shit, sometimes if I was generous enough, I'd make it two."

Tarik just shook his head, before blowing out his smoke. He then passed it down to his other cellmates, who, at first glance, sort of looked like them in terms of skin color, but was actually Mexican, who, alongside Ibrahim, was brought in just last week. An experienced miner, he went by Jimmy Reygadas.

Speaking of Jimmy, it was him who asked the next question. "Okay, so how'd you end up here, amigo?"

Ibrahim frowned when he was brought back to that unpleasant memory. "The smuggling crew of mine got greedy, and eventually turned to slave trade." He closed his eyes as he shook his head. "I declined, of course, and stuck to just smuggling oil for a few more years until those Salafist bastards took over Ra's Lanuf, and I was left with nothing as I fled from home again. I didn't want to run for too long though, so I ended up joining a local militia that was with the government. We soon went back to Ra's and kicked those bastards out of my town. Damage was done, though, since my whole neighborhood was pretty much abandoned, with only a few left, who managed to hide from those assholes. Ra's Lanuf was a ghost town for a good few months."

Ibrahim paused as he was brought back to that moment. Slaughtering those bastards was satisfying, but it was a bitter victory once the last bullet had been fired. The town, which was once full of life with the sound and presence of street vendors, kids, and numerous small shops. The silence was honestly a lot more unsettling than the sound of gunfire if you asked him.

"After that, the militia I was with turned to Sirte, where we heard about a slave auction that was about to go off. Turned out it was a trap, and we were ambushed. And what do you know, part of them included my old smuggling crew. They thought that it was a good way to pay me back by selling me off into the auction, and you can guess the rest." Ibrahim ended with a glare, staring into his lighter, which he flicked on and off an random. "Should've killed them before when I had the chance…"

"Should've killed them there when I had the chance…"

The other men fell into silence to give respect to the man. Eventually, it was Jimmy's turn to share his story.

"I come from Minés Villa, which was a mining town just south of Cananea. I worked in the illegal mines with the other villages up in the mountains. Wasn't anything else to do but to try and make money, and it was either the mines, or go try to find work somewhere else. Anyways, I worked in the mines since I was eleven, so I got pretty much used to the dust in my lungs."

"Jesus, man."

"I get that, but really, I got good at it." Jimmy smirked. "I know how to set up a basic mineshaft. Lights, ventilation, air conditioning, transport, you name it. Then I turned 18, and the government came in and shut down all the mines, leaving everyone who worked in the mines without any sort of income, and the town quickly became deserted."

"Wow, that sucks."

"Yeah, pretty much." Jimmy said, taking another drag. "So me and my familia moved to Nuevo Laredo, where my abuelo lived, who was working as a cop back then. " He tapped his finger on the smoke, and watched the ashes fall onto his lap, before taking another puff. "Mi Familia, my people, and the rest of the community are hard working people. Good men, too. The only thing they feared was God Almighty himself and nothing else." Jimmy said, crossing his heart.

He then glanced at Tarik, who just shrugged in return. A bit relieved at the absence of religious conflict, he continued.

"Mi abuelo and mi tío were cops, working hard for the family and to keep the streets clean. But then out of nowhere, my grandfather and my father got sacked by the police commissioner. No explanation, no warning, just told them to leave, before taking their badge and their gun."

Jimmy's face grew darker as his fingers squeezed the cigarette.

"It didn't make sense to me until that Friday night. A couple of cruisers just rolled up in front of my house, and with no warning, just shot the whole house up with everyone in it."

Jimmy's fingers curled around the dying cigarette, crushing it with his hands. It burnt his skin, but the man didn't seem to care.

"Nobody in that house survived that day. I was the one lucky one - or I guess unlucky, if you can say so. I was arriving home on my bike when I saw it all happen. Right in front of me, my mama, papa, my uncle, my three sisters and brothers were just killed like animals in front of me. Murdered by the people that we thought were friends."

"They were corrupt, weren't they?" Naruto, who was the quietest of the group so far, finally spoke up from his bed, staring at the darkening ceiling.

"Si." Jimmy nodded grimly. "The commissioner, the lieutenants, even the fucking highway patrols, they were all paid by Los Zetas to kill my family just to tell everybody that they ruled Nuevo Laredo. They were former cops, turned rogue after they got training from those pinche Gringos across the border. Fucking Americans created a big mess like how they did in Libya, eh, Ibrahim?"

The Libyan just nodded. "Yeah…typical."

"Anyways," Jimmy sighed, dropping the remains of the cigarette, "my family was killed because my stubborn old grandpa refused to stay quiet about the corruption that was poisoning our city. The final straw was when he found out the mayor was meeting with drug traffickers. He tried to tell everyone, but those bastards got to mi familia first…" Jimmy shook his head, rubbing his eyes as he buried his face into his hands.

"You alright, Jimmy?"

"Sorry, but when I keep thinking about it..." His fist hardened into a fist, his knuckles whitening from rage. "I just feel like going on a rampage, matando a cada bastardo que mató a mis seres queridos."

"Ey, if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to." Adrik cut in.

"I know." Jimmy sighed, reaching for something under his shirt, which turned out to be a silver cross necklace with Jesus on it.

"I just feel like I've been weak on my response to all of this." He said, clutching onto his cross. "I'm not comfortable with talking anymore…"

Adrik nodded. "I understand, my friend. Life can be cruel."

They then fell into a tense-filled silence, hearing nothing but the snores and the whimpers of the other slaves.

"You know what," Naruto suddenly said, "when I hear all your stories, a part of me feels jealous."

"What do you mean?" Ibrahim wondered.

"I've never had parents since the day I was born." Naruto said solemnly. "They died when I was born to protect the village I lived in. I never had a mom to pick me up from school, and to prepare me dinner. I never had a dad to teach me anything, or to just hang out with."

Naruto's frown turned into a glare as he began to recall all the bad memories he had with his village.

"I'm not kidding when I say that from the day I was born, it just seemed like everyone and everything hated me. Everybody hated me for something I wasn't, blaming me for the attack on my village, and for getting the previous leader killed. It never made sense, and to this day, it still kind of doesn't. If it wasn't for the leader of my village, I think I would've gone mad years ago."

Naruto's blue eyes then softened when he thought about the people in his life that made him smile.

"There were only a handful of people in my life that helped me stay positive. Funny enough, one of them was technically an enemy. I was on a mission with my team to protect a bridge-builder from a group of assassins. One of them was Haku, who I met after falling asleep outside. I didn't know that he was my enemy at the time, and looking back, he could've killed me on the spot. Instead, we had a nice chat together, and he even taught me that the greatest source of strength comes from protecting those you love."

"That's pretty deep, amigo." Jimmy nodded. "What happened to him."

The sudden silence that ensued said it all, and he winced at that.

"Oh."

"Yeah. I guess that's just life…"

TING!

Everyone turned to the cell door to see a Pyke guard slamming his stick against the door.

"Lights off, up to bed." The Pyke guard said, walking passed their door. The moment the guard left the lights above the five youngmen turned off, leaving the only light in the darkness to be the red burning cigarette.

"Alright," Ibrahim took another stroke before exhaling "Let's sleep, bastards." he dropped the smoke and put it out before everyone started moving to their bunk beds. Trying to get as much sleep that they could for the next day.

Laying on the down bed underneath Naruto was Jimmy who decided not to sleep underneath Ibrahim's smelly ass from the food he's been eating in the kitchen with his connection. Hoping that Naruto would be less of a nuisance.

"Sleep well, Amigo." He said to Naruto crossing his arms while closing his eyes. Leaving Naruto to keep staring at the ceiling without a inch of sleep in him. Instead he reached down to his jacket he managed to scavenge from another deceased slave and pulled out from under it his pedant, he stared at it knowing he was lucky that the slavers didn't confiscate it as he hid it for as long as he could being it the only reminder of his home. Gripping it into his hands he made a promise to himself in his mind, one of the things the old man 3rd Hokage told him.

_'I will not give up, I will not.'_

* * *

**[Elementia - Uzushiogakure]**

Uzushiogakure.

It was once an island full of life. An island full of civilians and shinobi, who kept to themselves as they practiced the art of sealing.

They were the Uzumaki clan, an infamous clan of powerful warriors, with skills in sealing that was unrivaled.

But that was in the past. The once glorious village was now in ruins, destroyed by enemies who never took credit for their successful annihilation of the clan, leaving nothing behind but still running whirlpools, corpses, and broken, empty buildings.

CRACKLE! CRUMBLE.

Jango and Cad Bane were currently walking through the ruins, having flown to this island from all the way from Kamino on the _Slave I_. Cad Bane was brought along on this field trip, and while the ruins did serve to somewhat fascinate him, especially after hearing all the legends from the Mandalorian walking next to him, he was still irritated from the flight.

"Unbelievable…" The helmed warrior breathed as he made sure to take in the sights before him. No Mandalorian had ever set foot upon this place again, seeing as how they never needed to, and because they never received the call to. Plus, there was the constant wars that was fought that included their participation, many of them ending up to be civil wars. On top of that, his people before him we're forced to swear to never return to this cursed planet unless their brethren summoned them. However, after so many years of silence, it was clear now why they never even got a call back to make sure that they were okay.

"Hey, Fett." Cad Bane grunted, flicking away his toothpick. "You mind telling me the purpose of this depressing field trip? This place gives me the spooks."

He had just walked past a corpse, which still had its forehead protector and armor on. It looked to be in many different pieces, indicating that this poor fellow was blown to bits.

"I told you, I'm here to look for something." Jango answered, his heart feeling heavy from seeing the abandoned corpse of the Uzumaki. "Some...possible artifacts that they left behind that I can possibly use, as well as that boy, when we save him."

"_If_ we save him." The duros grunted. "What destroyed this place, by the way?"

"No one knows." Jango admitted. "All we know is that this island was set ablaze, destroying nearly everything here." He kept his vizor running, scanning to try to find anything.

"Great." The duros sighed, looking around the ruins again nervously. He nearly jumped when he realized that the Mandalorian had stopped walking. Looking in front of him, he realized that they were standing in front of a wall, with ancient writings and carvings on them. Bane realized that Jango was touching the spiral, which had a hole in the eye.

"I wonder…" Jango dug around in his pocket, and pulled out a clear crystal. Before Bane could ask, Jango stuck the crystal into the hole, and they both discovered that it was a perfect fit.

"A key?"

Just then, the wall began to glow bright blue as the carvings and the text began to emit the same light. It started from the center of the whirlpool, before quickly spreading to the rest of the wall.

Jango yelped as the blue light and text suddenly crawled onto his arm. Letting go of the crystal, he staggered backward as he tried to swat the glowing text off of him, but just as quickly as it latched onto him, it suddenly disappeared.

Before either of them could start any questions, Bane pointed back to the wall.

"I think you opened a door, Jango." He noted. Looking back at the wall, it would seem like he did indeed open some sort of gateway, as the glowing spiral drawing began to suddenly unravel itself, the hole in the middle growing bigger, until it grew big enough for a man to walk through.

The minute the whirlpool stopped expanding, the giant hole stopped glowing, allowing them to look back at it with ease. Even with Jango's visor, he found the light to be quite blinding.

"..."

"..."

"...Well, here goes." Jango muttered, before he took a brave step forward. Stepping towards the hole, he hesitantly stuck his hand forward, and found that it went through the hole. Astonished, he quickly pulled it back, and found that his hand was back in the light, and not submerged in the dark hole.

"..." Saying nothing else, the Mandalorian took a deep breath, before he stepped inside the portal.

The darkness seemed to swallow him whole as he completely passed through the opening. Shrugging, Cad Bane quickly followed suit.

The minute he completely entered the hole, the whirlpool portal closed shut behind them.


	6. The Call of the Dark Side

Sandman001 - _"I find Mei joining the CSI just because of the droids to by a load of BULL. She's a massive hypocrite to join a group that's just as oppressive as the people she was fighting against. At the the Republic seemed okay because it turned into the Empire. The CIS is treats all planets it invades awfully." _

**LW**: The CIS's original purpose is actually pretty noble, hence why many systems defected to them. It would've been great, had it not been for Sidious's and Dooku's interference, as well as the greedy corporations that joined the CIS (and again, they were, to some extent, being puppeted by the two Sith lords.) Also, note that Elementia is a planet that was completely cut off from the rest of the galaxy for a while, so they have no idea about the politics and news going on in the galaxy. Both sides knew this, and tried to use that to their advantage to make a first good impression to both of them. However, the Republic, who has no army, couldn't really send in proper troops to help with the rebellion, and only meager medical supplies and rations, while the CIS, who had plenty of Battle Droids, sent plenty of them. Add in the fact that they also offered rations, and Mei was pretty much sold. She, much like probably most of the other Separatists, would be exposed to propaganda that will paint the Republic as the greedy, uncaring bad guys, while being told that the Separatists are just trying to be free. At least, that's my theory on why most of the Separatists stayed where they were, despite the atrocities that their side committed that they were against (like slavery and mistreatment based off of species.) Keep in mind that not every single one of the CIS was a pure scumbag, and actually wanted genuine equality for all. Ask Mina Bonteri, or rather, her son.

Also, it's CIS, not the crime show.

…

Jrmcvay442

**LW**: I thought we made it clear just how the kidnapping was (barely) successful. Danzo had a hand in it, which meant that he replaced guards, reduced guards, and did every other dirty trick you can think of, which includes tampering with the barrier. And even then, the best bounty hunters in the galaxy were running for their lives.

Also, the thing about Jango is that we made it clear that he was conflicted between completing the job that he was basically tricked into doing and trying to do the right thing. Not a very easy choice when your reputation is on the line, and when you're going to end up pissing off the wrong people. And it's not like he didn't try to do the right thing at the end.

The tailed beasts were called the tailed beasts, mate. They weren't considered living, thinking, feeling things for a very long time, much less a person.

Yes, the timeline is a bit weird, but I thought that we already went through that, especially with the fact that Sabine and Hera's going to be a part of the story, just like in the original version of this fanfiction. Granted, you didn't wait to read the future notes we put out in the other chapters, but yeah. Also, it's a fanfiction. Don't think about it too much.

While normally I would like to thank you for your constructive criticism, I wouldn't exactly call your comments that. It was just you venting out your unfiltered, unrestrained thoughts without even attempting to pretend to be polite. It's one thing to have constructive criticism and questions, but it's another to just be a jerk, especially when the real dogshit here is your spelling and grammar.

If you wish to deliver real constructive criticism, please do so in a polite and professional manner. This may be the internet, and this may be fanfiction, but have some standards for yourself.

And on that note, if you wish to justify your poor spelling & grammar with English being your second language, then please do study harder. Excuse or not, nobody wants to read something that looks like a drunk person wrote it. The fact that you decided to read a fanfiction that is in mainly English implies a lot about your dominant language. Also, I just checked what fanfictions you liked, and surprise surprise, they're all in English. Besides, AmusedLight here doesn't have English as his first language, and he writes supremely better than you.

**AmusedLight**: Yeah, lol. Man, your typing sucks, Jrm, like damn, I got a homie in Oman who spells better than you, lol.

…

As for everyone else, thank you for your kind comments and constructive criticisms. Really appreciate it! A single thoughtful review means the world to us writers.

* * *

**[Kessel - Ölüm]**

The roar of a ship's engines screeched across the land as it flew through the air. Flying over the landscapes of the mining planet towards its destination, the Sheathipede transport shuttle only began to slow down once it flew over the mining hole that was named Ölüm. It's landing gears opening up like a large, metal insect, it slowly hovered down onto one of the few landing pads the mining hole had, with two members of the Pykes Syndicate and Darts D'Nar himself awaiting the ship.

Once the shuttle settled down, it's doors slid open, and out walked the Prime Minister of Zygerria Atai Molec himself.

"Prime Minister Molec." D'Nar welcomed him. "It's an honor to be privileged with your presence, my lord."

"Darts D'Nar." Molec regarded while looking around. "I've been sent by the queen herself to bring a clear message to all of her subjects who have operations like yours on Kessel. I suggest we talk about this in private."

"Of course." D'Nar nodded in respect. "Let us go to my office. From there, you can see the whole operation for yourself."

D'Nar then snapped his fingers, and a Pyke member quickly walked forward to give them their air masks.

"Another mining accident, I presume?" Molec frowned, putting on the mask.

"Unfortunately." D'Nar sighed. "As profitable as this mine is, it isn't without it's own set of problems. This mine is ancient, with many of its walls weakened from constant harvest. Despite the new reinforcements my slaves have built, it was only a matter of time before another mine collapsed."

"Any casualties?"

"A few, unfortunately. We lost a few slaves, as well as two of fellow zygerrians, and even a couple of Pyke members. Such a tragedy."

"Quite."

…

The two Zygerrians sat in a high room, surrounded by soundproof windows where they could see the whole mining operation down below, from the very top to the very bottom. D'Nar ordered a nearby slave to pour two glasses of wine for the both of them as he explained the extent of his operation.

"As you can see, I have over 50,000 slaves working non-stop, 24/7 on the job, finding, gathering, and transporting spice to the upper levels, where the processing teams will extract the Kessoline from the Kessel Stones so we can sell the minerals for narcotics as spice." D'Nar stopped for a moment to down his glass, before he continued. "That alone makes a good fortune, but really, it's the coaxium that's the real money maker."

This was something that got Molec to raise eyebrows. "Coaxium? That's a rare hyperfuel. Pretty dangerous too."

"But also very lucrative." D'Nar smiled. "I've just discovered a large amount of that fuel is buried right beneath us. The minute this was discovered, I have prioritized its mining and doubled the workload for all of my slaves." D'Nar said, not being able to contain his chuckle. He was now standing above a fortune that would last almost a lifetime of profits he could now accumulate, with an unending flow of slaves that were being brought in every day.

Molec nodded, becoming quite impressed with the zygerrian's work.

"I see that you've made some admirable progress, which puts the other slavers to shame with your successes." The Prime Minister said, looking back down at the area below them. He watched as a large group of slaves were beginning to line up. "D'Nar, why are those slaves not being put to work?"

"Oh, you mean those from the Omega Sector? They are merely refilling their canteens before they go back to work." D'Nar answered. "This particular group has earned their little reward, since unlike the other slaves like the wookies and the others from the Outer Rim, these slaves have been making much more progress in my mine than all the others."

It wasn't very uncommon knowledge that humans were rather a popular race to enslave. Not only do they tend to last longer in a vast majority of climates, such as the sweltering one in Kessel, but they also tended to rival in physical beauty at times with the Twi'leks. It also helped that with all the human-supremacy attitude that was spread across the galaxy, it was admittedly rather satisfying to put them in their places.

It honestly seemed like his birthday when the Zygerrian Empire heard about the planet Earth, a lush planet full of humans. When the Separatists began to forge alliances in that planet, it allowed the Zygerrians to use the Separatist connections to sneak onto the planet to smuggle some of the humans out for their personal use. It was surprisingly easy, due to the fact that this planet had "third world countries", which the United Nations put less attention and care into, and thus, made it significantly easier to capture and ship future slaves.

The two zygerrians stared down at the line up as one particular blond was about to have his turn at the front of the line.

* * *

**[ Outside of the Cafeteria Entrance ]**

There was a large line waiting outside of an entrance to the inside of the mine, which lead to the cafeteria. Instead of only waiting for food, however, these slaves were also waiting for their second refill for their canteens, which was pretty rare. The slavers called it their reward for their hard work, but the people knew better. They all knew that the slavers acknowledged that if they wanted the slaves to harvest more spice and the coaxium, they'll have to give them more food and water, otherwise, the slaves will die at a much more faster rate, and replenishing their numbers is always too troublesome, hence why the slavers made some effort on keeping them alive.

In that line was Jimmy, who was talking to Tarik and Adrik about the new mine that they had extended with some other slaves, making some serious progress by applying more support beams that minimized the chances of the mine collapsing again. It was thanks to the Mexican's experience working in the mines that they thought of this, and after getting permission from their slavers, they were able to build the support beams.

"Man, we're lucky that you knew your shit, Jimmy. If you didn't explain to that fucking Zyg about the need for the support beams, more of us would probably die from another goddamn collapse." Tarik said to the Mexican with a handshake. "I owe you one, man."

"Don't thank me, amigo. Thank the Lord." Jimmy pulled out his cross necklace. "If it wasn't for his grace, then the whole ceiling would have collapsed."

"You trying to convert me, Jimmy?"

"Well, if I have a chance-"

"Man, even on a different planet, you Christians and Muslims are still at it, huh?" Adrik teased them.

"Well, a man's gotta find a way to pass the time."

That voice belonged to a very large man, who was covered head to toe in tattoos. His arms, legs, shoulders, and even the back of his head decorated by art, the only part of his body left untouched was his bald head and forehead.

"Joseph." Jimmy walked up to him in shock as he extended his hand to him. "Good to see you're still breathing, amigo. I heard you were working down in the underground with the Wookies." Joseph Iberra was a fellow Mexican who grew up in the same school as Jimmy, but unlike Jimmy, who went to try and make an honest living, Joseph was someone who had a dirty history of smuggling dope across the US border, which ended when he got into trouble with his last shipment. Before he knew it, he was sold off as a slave, and ended up in Kessel.

"I was…" Joseph shook his head as he gained some worried expressions from the others. "...I'm the only one left alive. Kessoline gas came out from the wall, and all hell broke loose." Everyone winced when he mentioned the Kessoline leak. Much like dioxis, if you breathed it in, you were a dead man within seconds.

"So you mean-"

"I just finished dragging their bodies to their final resting place if you know what I mean." Joseph said grimly, sounding very weary. "Wasn't a pleasant task to do."

"Ain't it ever." Jimmy put a hand on his countryman's shoulder. "Get in line, we're about to get our canteens filled." He pulled his friend in the line before anyone could say anything else.

Meanwhile, up in front of the line, Naruto was just about to take his turn. He was waiting for Zeb to finally fill his canteen, waiting patiently for his turn.

"Never thought in my entire life that being in front of a water can would be the best day of my life." Zeb said, half-smiling as he closed the tap of the water, before taking a sip from his canteen. "Ohh, that's good."

"If you don't mind, big guy, there's a line." Naruto reminded him, jerking his thumb at the growing line behind them.

"Hehehehe, right." Zeb closed his canteen and walked out. "Your turn, kid. Make every drop count." And just like that, after what seemed like forever, Naruto was in front of the line. After taking a moment to enjoy the reward of his patience, he stepped up to the water tank, and turned on the faucet.

While the water splashed and bubbled into his nearly empty canteen, Naruto found himself staring at the small, muddy puddle that sat near his feet. He could've been losing his mind, but he suddenly saw a younger version of himself smiling, with him being around Sakura, who was high-spirited as usual. Kakashi-sensei was giving his eye smile while holding his nasty book, while Sasuke was giving his usual gloomy look.

The water began to hiss, and Naruto realized that it was almost full. Quickly shutting it up, he was about to recap his canteen, when someone roughly stepped in front of him, splashing the water all over his already dirty pants. He looked up, and saw that it was Sabine.

Getting into his face, she snarled, "So I heard you and the Earthlings got yourselves a special favor for rebuilding a whole mineshaft."

Naruto just sighed. This girl was obviously trying to provoke him, and at this point, he was quite used to this behavior, even though he never understood what was the cause of their bad relationship.

"Well, got anything to say, kid?"

"No." Naruto answered while trying to close his canteen. "I'm just trying to get some water after some backbreaking work. So if you'd excuse me-"

"Like hell I will!" She slapped the water canteen from his hand, and he watched in horror as it fell onto the dirty ground, most of its contents splashing all over their feet and the ground. Everyone gasped and jeered at the sight of the two of them fighting again. Someone in the background yelled at them to just kiss and make up, but both of them didn't hear it.

Sabine took it a step further and grabbed the canteen, before spilling the remaining water right in front of him. "Here, try and enjoy it now, filthy imposter."

His expression blank, he bent down to his knee to try to touch the spilled water with his hand, ignoring the shoutings from his friends, who were demanding to know what was going on.

"You know what, Wren?"

"What?"

"This!" Naruto suddenly scooped up some of the water, and threw it onto her face. Caught off guard, she stumbled back as she tried to wipe away the sludge. Stumbling, she tripped over a large cable, making her fall onto the ground.

"Consider that a fucking warning." Naruto warned her with a glare. "I normally don't hit women unless I have to."

"Coward!" Sabine shouted as she kicked his leg, sweeping him off his feet as he fell onto his rear as well. This gave her the chance to jump right onto him, and began to punch him right in the face. "I'm not some girl you think you can just slap around!"

Months of pent up aggression and stress went into blow after blow, her small fists slamming into every inch of his body that she could hit. One of her hits landed onto his mouth, and when she retracted her hand, his lips were bleeding, much to her satisfaction.

Her grin quickly faded as he suddenly grabbed her fist midair, and quickly twisted it slightly, causing a sharp, intense pain to erupt from her wrist.

"AARGH!"

Seizing the moment, Naruto punched her in the face, before flipping her off of him. Before she could have time to react, he quickly crawled on top of her as he grabbed her neck, squeezing it hard.

Sabine gagged as she struggled to get him off of her, slammed her fists into his arms to make him release her, only for her to stop when she looked into the boy's eyes.

They were cold. Just dark and cold like it was Death itself standing right in front of her. Was he really about to kill her in front of everyone just like that? It was then that she felt fear. Fear of dying. Fear of dying before she got a chance to even say goodbye to her family. The world began to turn black as she was running out of air-

ZAPPP!

Suddenly, Sabine realized that she could breathe again. Coughing, she blinked the spots out of her eyes as she tried to process what just happened. Looking up, she realized that Naruto had collapsed, with a Pykes guard standing over him, an electrostaff in his hands.

"Stand back!" The other Pykes guards ordered, driving them away with their own electrostaff and whips. "Stand back, slaves!"

Someone grabbed Sabine's hair, and she cried out in pain as she was pulled up, forcing her to stand on her feet as one of the Pykes roughly forced her up. She could see the two other Pykes stomping on Naruto repeatedly to the point where he started to spit blood out of his mouth.

"Starting fights, aren't ya!?" The leading Pykes sneered as he stopped the beating. "Well, let's see how you like that now. No water for you for a week!" He turned around to Sabine, and pointed at her. "And you. Don't think you'll get away with it. The both of you will be placed in the Cleaning Unit…"

Both of them now forced onto the ground on their stomachs, Sabine could only thank herself for this mess she got herself into. Now she was put a week without water AND been given _that_ task for a week. She wondered what the kid was thinking, especially when she saw him just staring into the ground like he didn't seem to care. That, or he had a concussion.

"Back to work, all of you!"

…

D'Nar couldn't help but chuckle at the sight below him. "And yet, that Elementia boy failed to finish off the Mandalorian. How disappointing."

Molec was curious to know what he meant. "You let your slaves fight against each other? Why not simply teach them a lesson?"

"Oh, I do." D'Nar shrugged, ordering his slave to pour himself another glass of wine. "I'll let them work in the Cleaning Unit, although…" D'Nar let out a harsh laugh. "I heard that they call it 'The Grave Unit.' Rather fitting, admittedly, since for the most part, they are disposing of the dead bodies of the slaves at the bottom of the mine."

"Gruesome." Molec chuckled, before taking a sip of his wine.

Placing his empty glass down, he let out a small burp, before he continued. "Do you think you'll have enough workers for a small project?"

D'Nar listened while pouring another glass for Molec "What kind of small project? If you didn't notice, I've already got my hands full at the moment."

"It won't take much for you and you'll get handsomely paid." Molec got up from his seat, and began to walk around, staring at the slaves below. "There are certain...individuals who are in need of a certain area where they could test their ideas in the dark if you can say…"

"So someone wants to use my slaves for experiments." D'Nar quickly deduced. "I suppose I can be generous. I am a man of science, after all. Still, it won't be for free."

"You'll be compensated, that I assure you." Molec told him "I just need to know if you're willing to contribute some space, slaves and equipment to these fine gentlemen." Molec said remembering the conversations he made with these individuals, who wanted to keep this as secretive as possible. Should their plans ever be exposed to the Republic or even the Separatist government, they would face a lifetime in prison, assuming they weren't given the death penalty..

"Let's bring up a toast to this opportunity then." D'Nar said raising his glass to Molec's level. "To progress."

The glasses touched each other.

"To progress."

* * *

**[ Ölüm, Level 50; the bottom of the sinkhole ]**

The Grave Unit was a job that nobody wanted. Granted, no one wished to do any of the work here, but this job was one of the worst ones a slave could do. Tasked with the job of disposing garbage, which included the bodies of the deceased slaves, it always left the unfortunate slave feeling depressed after they were done.

A body of a deceased Togrutan male was carelessly thrown onto a large, metal wagon, which looked ancient. Naruto flinched as he saw countless bodies under the Togrutan. Some were fresh, and some have been down here much longer than the others, with the stench being a dead giveaway. Even with the tied cloth around their mouths, the stench was still unbearable. Gagging, he shook his head, and tried not to think about it too much.

Letting out a painful sigh, he let out a groan as he tossed another body into the conveyor belt, which led to the incinerator. Turning back to the wagon, he flinched as he saw one of the bodies staring at him. A Wookie, whose head was split open, probably due to being beaten to death, had its eyes still open, which, despite the lack of life in them, was still staring into his soul. Shivering at the sight, he lifted his hand towards his face, closing them gently.

"Sorry…"

"Ruto!" Naruto turned around to see a man wearing an improvised gas mask over his head. Dressed in filthy clothes taken from the corpses, the man was huge, easily overtowering both Naruto and Sabine.

This man was named Levi Laskov, although many just called him "Bomber", due to only a handful of them actually knowing his name. Not many knew who he was or where he came from. The only thing everyone knew, however, was that he was the unfortunate one who was stuck working here for the rest of his life.

"Hey, Bomber." Naruto waved at him, before wincing. The Russian giant did not fail to notice this.

"Them Zygs mess you up?" He asked, already knowing the answer. "She responsible for it?"

He jerked his thumb at her, who was currently loading another body onto the belt. Naruto nodded, and Bomber snorted.

"Lovebirds. Alright, time to get to work."

Before Naruto could argue against that, a loud buzz rang through the air. They looked up, and saw more bodies falling from the sky. Some of them landed on the large, metal wagons, and some of them fell onto the floor with a nasty _crunch_.

"...The next batch?" Naruto asked stupidly. Bomber just nodded. No more words being needed, they both got back to work.

The three of them continued to toss the bodies onto the conveyor belt in grim silence. Bomber made sure to count the fallen, while Naruto and Sabine made sure to keep the fire going and to help Bomber load the bodies.

"Okay." Bomber finally spoke, immediately grabbing their attention. "We're done for this area. Time to move on to the next one."

"Right." Naruto and Sabine sighed in unison. They looked at each other for a moment, before they quickly looked away.

…

Ten grueling hours have passed now, and yet somehow, Naruto was the only one that wasn't showing any major signs of exhaustion as he laid down another body onto the conveyor belt.

That, however, didn't mean that he was enjoying the work.

Naruto grunted as he massaged his shoulders, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "This goddamn heat. Can't fucking get used to it."

The operator just pulled on his filter mask, before turning to Naruto. "Then you better be thankful that we're almost done for the night. I'll handle the rest here, so can you do one more run? We'll be done then for today."

Naruto nearly cried from relief. They've been working for almost twelve hours straight, with only a half-hour break in between. "Yeah, sure, no problem."

"Good kid." Bomber nodded. He noticed that one of the carts was already gone. "I guess the girl already took off. Go help her so that you'll be back upstairs sooner."

"Right." Naruto said, turning around. "See you in a bit, old man."

…

You would expect that the bottom of the pit would be a small area, but Naruto and Sabine learned the hard way that it was just as large as any other level.

Naruto winced as he took another step forward. He realized just how much his feet and his body hurt from the whole labor, which somehow seemed much more difficult than mining for spice or fuel.

_'On top of that, it's fucking creepy.'_ He thought, glancing at the empty, filthy area around him. While seeing dead slaves wasn't exactly a new experience, there was at least plenty of other company around him that was alive, be it one of the slavers or another fellow slave. In here, however, you were mostly alone, save for the others that you could share your misery with.

SNIFF. SNIFF.

Naruto froze, his tired muscles suddenly clenching up as he thought he had heard something. His minimal training kicking in, he began to silently walk towards the source of the noise.

His ears now focusing on the source of the noise, his eyes widened when he realized what the noise was.

Someone was crying, and it sounded like a girl, judging from the breathing and the restrained sobs. He walked over to where it was coming from, and saw that it was Sabine. Sitting against the metal cart, her head was buried in her legs as the woman was breaking down.

Naruto, who was feeling pretty awkward, cleared his throat. Sabine's head shot back up, hitting her head onto the metal crate. Hissing in a foreign language he couldn't understand (but somehow, it sounded familiar), he had to hold back a chuckle as she tried to glare daggers at him.

"I guess you just needed a break." Naruto said, walking past her. He began to load up the bodies onto the metal crate. "The work sucks, I know, so I get it if you need to take a break."

"What's wrong with you?!"

Naruto turns his head towards her. "Excuse me?"

Tears leaked out of her eyes as she hastily tried to wipe them away. "We're in here just _throwing_ bodies in these ovens to burn like garbage after they've been worked to death, and we're just dragging them around like they don't matter!" Now standing up, she kicked the cart in frustration.

The young man stood there awkwardly as the Mandalorian girl kicked out her frustrations, before sinking back onto her butt. Whatever fire she had was gone, replaced by just sadness.

"I'm stuck here with you, surrounded by stacks of dead people with no way out of here…" She sniffed. "I miss my family… "

Sabine couldn't hold it in anymore as she began to cry into her legs. "I'm going to die down here, with my body joining the others into that furnace, with the last memory I have of my family is of that fight…"

Naruto bit his lip as he watched the tough, rowdy Sabine - the girl that always tried to start problems with him, - began to finally break down, just like how he and many of them did at some point.

"I'm going to die." The coughing began to replace the sniffing. "I'm - *_cough_* - I'm - *_cough_* - going to die in this hole."

The coughing sounded serious as she kept on going for a good minute. Naruto realized that she probably needed water, since the last time they drank was when they had that fight in the afternoon.

CLUNK.

Sabine looked up, her eyes now bloodshot, and saw his canteen next to her. "Wha-?"

"Take a break." Naruto told her as he placed the last body into the cart. "We're done after this load, so let me handle it."

He began to push the cart into the dark tunnel.

"Wait!"

Naruto turned around back to Sabine and she was about to ask a question.

"Why are you giving me this?" She demanded, shaking the nearly empty canteen in her hand. "I didn't ask for your help!"

"Because you're in distress."

"I'm not a helpless girl." Sabine growled. "A Mandalorian survives and adapts, and we certainly _don't_ ask for any handovers-"

"Then why the hell are you in here then?!" Naruto snapped as he stopped pushing the cart, turning around to give the girl an irritated glare. "Because let me tell you. Your stupid pride about being a Mandalorian and not taking handovers ain't getting you nowhere. And frankly I'm starting to think you Mandalorians are more talk then doing it." Naruto was getting enough from this nonsense about this 'Mandalorian pride' from what he was hearing and now it came to this point where even a helpful gesture was seen as an insult.

"And yet, here we are." Naruto cut her off. "I don't know much about your people, but from what I heard, we both come from a heritage of warriors. Didn't really do us much good now, huh? The point here is that everybody needs somebody, and right now, you need me, just like how I need you and Bomber to help us clean up this cesspool, and try to survive another day."

And with that, he turned back to shove the cart of bodies down the tunnel, stomping all the way.

Sabine just stared at his shrinking figure, her eyes narrowing at his declaration of his past. Her fingers curled into a fist as she slowly followed him.

…

Naruto's blank eyes stared as the last body was pulled into the flames, joining the rest of the fallen slaves to their disgraceful grave. He slowly looked away as he let out a sigh.

"Ruto."

Hearing his nickname, Naruto turned his head to see that it was Bomber, who removed his large mask. "I see you've finished your last batch. Where's the girl?"

"Sabine." Naruto sighed at the mention of the Mandalorian girl. "She's waiting at the elevator. After she helped deliver the last batch, she told me she'd wait at the elevator for me. "

"I see." Bomber grunted as he reached for the controls below the conveyor belt. Pushing the big red button, the machine slowed to a stop, as its job was finally done for the day. "You can go now. I'm just going to double check the machines in case I need to do some repairs for it again."

"Need some help?"

"Nyet," Bomber declined the offer "You did enough for tonight. Go and try to get some sleep. You'll need it, and try and forget about this night."

"Not sure if I can." Naruto replied grimly, refusing to look at the flames again. "This isn't something we do from where I'm from. My village only burnt the bodies of our enemies, not… innocent people. Whoever thought of doing this is a monster."

"You're telling me, my friend." Bomber chuckled without humor. "Bit of irony that those Zygs gave me this job. My ancestors would weep in shame if they saw what I was forced to do."

"What?

"Nothing, I'm just mumbling to myself." Bomber said, waving him off. "Just go now, I will see you tomorrow. Make sure to get plenty of food and water in your belly." The giant said as he walked to the back of the incinerator.

"Night, Bomber." Naruto waved him off as he turned around and walked towards the mining elevators. If he wasn't so down and tired, he would've let out a small cheer at the fact that his shift was finally over.

…

Sabine was standing by the mining elevators, waiting for Naruto to arrive so they could finally go back to their cells so they could try to sleep this horrible night off.

"Sabine." She turned around, and without saying a word, she clicked on the mining elevator's door for it to open. The two humans walked inside, and Naruto wished that the elevator, which was large enough to fit about a dozen people, had chairs or something to sit on.

Waiting for Sabine to go first, he pushed on the level he needed to go, and they silently waited for the elevator to take them to their designated area. The elevator groaned as it strained to move it's large body and its two passengers up. The machine was ancient, with constant maintenance the only reason why it hasn't given out yet.

SLAM!

Naruto nearly fell over as the elevator shook. Getting his balance back, he realized that they weren't moving anymore. He turned towards the controls, only to see Sabine yanking out a few wires out of place.

"Sabine, what are you doing?"

"Creating an opportunity." She said coldly. Stepping away from the disabled controls, she cracked her knuckles as she rolled her neck. "You and I never finished that fight properly. It's time that we finally settle this."

"Oh, Kami." Naruto groaned. This wasn't over? "Literally woman, what is your problem?"

SHINK!

His eyes widened as Sabine pulled out a handmade shank from her pocket. It was nowhere near as dangerous and sharp as a kunai, but it looked like it would still do a lot of damage if she overpowered him.

"You're the problem." She snarled. "You walk around sullying the name, 'Uzumaki.' As if _you_, a random nobody, could be from a clan of ancient Mandalorian warriors. If you really were from that clan, then where's your armor? They let me keep mine for some reason, but I heard nothing about your armor. So tell me, why _shouldn't_ I stick this where it doesn't shine as punishment for sullying that name?"

Tired, trapped, and honestly fed up with this girl, Naruto just sighed as he got into a fighting stance.

"You know what? Fine. I can tell that you're stubborn like me, and that even if I somehow got out of this, you won't stop until you finally get your rematch." He slowly walked up to her as she walked up to him. "Just to let you know, I _tried_ to be nice to you. But now? One of us is going down."

Sabine responded by charging with a yell, going for the first blow by trying to cut him in the chest. Naruto dodged her slash and grabbed her arm, twisting it to force her onto her knee. The shank fell onto the cold, metal floor with a loud CLANG!

But Sabine wasn't done yet. Reacting quickly, she kicked his leg with her other foot, which got him good. He let go of her arm, and she used this chance to grab the shank, before driving it into his shoulder.

"Fuck!" Naruto roared as he backhanded her away. Gritting his teeth, he hissed as he ripped it out of him, before tossing it into the side.

CRUNCH!

Naruto saw stars as Sabine kicked him in the face. He flew back a few feet, and it didn't take a doctor to know that she fucking broke his nose.

"Come on!" She roared at him. "Are you a real Uzumaki? Or did you just pick up that name because you needed to feel important?"

"..."

Sabine stopped when he froze. She waited for him to strike back, so that she could counter him again, but something was wrong. He wasn't moving.

...Come to think of it, _she_ wasn't moving either. She tried to move her legs, her arms, even her head. She. Couldn't. MOVE!

What was this? Some kind of trick? Was she poisoned? Drugged? Or-

Her eyes widened as her brown orbs met yellow. Glowing, sick yellow eyes, which seemed to stare into her soul, met her terrified brown ones.

SLAM!

Sabine saw stars as something hit her head. Groaning, she blinked the stars away as she quickly tried to figure out what had just happened.

Something was on her back. Something hard and cold.

...No, nothing was on her back. _She_ was on something. _She_ was stuck to the wall!

Turning her head back towards the boy, her heart was struck with fear once again as his eyes stared hatefully into her soul. Her eyes traveling towards his outstretched hand, it suddenly hit her: He was a Force wielder! Which must mean-

Her thoughts were cut off as her body slowly left the wall. Despite the dark magic that was going on, however, she was still staring into those yellow, rage-filled orbs.

SLAM!

Naruto thrusted his fist forward, and Sabine flew back onto the wall. She groaned in pain as she saw stars from the impact.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Saying nothing at all, the boy began to use the Force to repeatedly throw Sabine back and forth into the wall behind her. Each impact was more painful, with each throw being stronger than the previous ones.

It hurt. Everything hurt as Sabine began to lose consciousness. She was sure that she was going to die there. She was going to die by the boy that she antagonized endlessly, and she would die, knowing that she was wrong, and that this boy _was_ a true Uzumaki.

It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense really. How she got there, how he survived the bombardment, why his hair was the color of the sun, why she was going to die without even saying sorry to her family.

"P-Please."

It was just a whisper. A small, faint, weak, whisper, but Naruto somehow heard it, and stopped his assault, her body dangling weakly like a marionette in the air. Blood dripped from her face and mouth as she coughed, expelling a faint, red mist.

"Please." Using every little strength she had left, she slowly looked up at him. It hurt. It hurt to be reduced to this mess - to be begging for her life pathetically after everything she had done to try to hurt him. "Let me go."

Suddenly Naruto's eyes turned hollow as a sudden past memory came through his mind.

_Hinata was laid on her back with blood coming out of her mouth after being horrible beaten by her cousin Neji in the Chunin Exams._

_"P-Please."_

"Hinata?" Naruto muttered as his eyes turned to normal.

"W-Who's Hinata?"

CRACK!

The ground around them suddenly began to shake as the elevator groaned, it's support systems finally failing after all these years. Naruto's eyes widened as Sabine fell back onto the ground, barely alive.

"Sabine!" Naruto shouted as he ran up to her, now fully realizing what he had done. Putting his body above her, he closed his eyes as he tried to summon the Kyuubi's chakra.

CRUNCH! CRASH!

The elevator's final support system broke as he fell back down, bringing an avalanche of rocks, dirt, and spice with it.

The last thing Naruto remembered was a loud, final crash, and everything went black.

* * *

People ran as they tried to flee the continued collapse. People ran as they tried to help the others.

The elevator crash was heard by everyone, both the slaves and the slavers alike. Without even asking for permission, they already left their beds to check out the damage, as well as to search for survivors.

"Out of my way, now!" Tarik was one of technicians who rushed through the ground to figure out what had just happened. He jumped over the rails to look down into it.

"What the kriff just happened?" D'Nar, who was coming down with his guards on his hovercraft, roared at the slaves.

"From the looks of it, the support beams must've finally given out." Tarik explained to the zygerrian. "It looks like it took everything down around it, from loose rocks, spice, and anything else that was within 10 meters of the elevator shaft."

Jimmy was the next to check the mine. He examined the damage top and down, and shook his head. "That must've been twenty levels up before it went down. No one can survive that."

"I don't care about survivors. I want that elevator working again!" D'Nar spat at them. "No one leaves, and no one eats until this place is cleaned up! Understood?!"

That earned the zygerrian a lot of glares from the slaves, which he returned, challenging them to do something about it. It was a tense minute before the slaves eventually looked away, grumbling as they began to get to work.

"One day I will do this to him." One of the slaves said, gliding his finger over his neck.

"Let's not waste our time here." Adrik shouted, gaining everyone's attention "We'll need headlights, cables, shovels, carts, pickaxes, and anything else you can find. The faster we finish this shit, the sooner we can go back to sleep."

Everyone was just standing there like a herd of sheep, until Jimmy came up and stirred it up.

"What are y'all waiting for, a tap on the back? Vamos!" He barked at them, and the crowd scattered as they started looking for some equipment for the task that was waiting ahead for them.

* * *

Naruto's entire body felt like hell, especially his shoulder. Blinking, he realized he couldn't see. Panic began to take over his mind as he began to hyperventilate.

**_"Oi, gaki! Calm the hell down!" _**The Kyuubi's voice suddenly boomed in his head.

"Kyuubi?" Naruto asked out loud.

**_"Yeah, it's me. You're welcome."_** The chakra monster grunted. **_"Long story short, you used the Dark Side to kick that Wren girl's ass, and you ended up bringing down the entire elevator and everything else within several meters radius. You both survived, thanks to my chakra, but not only is she dying from her wounds you inflicted on her, but you're also stuck under all the rubble."_**

"What?" Wincing, he slowly managed to push off the large slab of rock off his back. His body felt like he got hit by a spaceship, but he did his best to ignore the pain. Digging around his pockets, he pulled out a small, cool plastic tube. Breaking it in half, the glow stick began to do its job, illuminating the small pocket of space they were trapped in. He frowned, seeing that they were indeed trapped inside the remains of the elevator and the countless number of rubble.

"Great." Naruto held his head back, feeling a huge headache coming on. "Just fucking great."

**_"That's not all."_** Kyuubi reminded him. **_"Look to your left." _**

The blond turned his head to the left and saw that next to him laid the body of the girl that he almost killed.

"Oh shit! Sabine!" Naruto carefully crawled towards her, and gingerly rolled her over. This caused her to moan in pain, which made his hand jerk away from her.

She looked terrible. She was bleeding from her head, which he was sure was cracked, and she was barely breathing. Each inhale and exhale made her whimper in pain, and he realized just how badly he ended up hurting her.

"Ah...Fuck!" Naruto cursed to himself, feeling helpless. _'Kyuubi, please help me!'_

**_"...There might be one way you can help her."_** The Nine-Tailed Fox finally said.

"Anything!" He nearly screamed.

**_"Alright. You'll have to listen to me very carefully. Tell me, how much do you know about the Force?"_**

"...The what?"

…

Naruto gulped as he took another deep breath.

He had just returned from his meeting with the Kyuubi, with the fox telling him to retreat to his mindscape so that they'll have more time for the fox to describe everything to him. Seeing as how they had plenty of time, he decided to get some questions answered, like why he was quiet all this time.

Naruto got pissed when he said that he wanted him to taste true suffering to help build his spirit, but he had to admit that the whole experience did help him grow up a bit.

**_"Remember, brat,"_** The Kyuubi's voice echoed in his mind. **_"You need to let the Force flow through you. Keep your mind at peace so that you can heal the ones you love."_**_i_

Naruto said nothing as he closed his heads, placing his hands on Sabine's head. He could feel her suffering. He could feel her pain. Her sadness. Her fear.

**_"I'll help you just once, alright, brat?"_** The Kyuubi said. **_"After that, you're on your own."_**

Naruto nodded as he began to meditate.

_"It's okay."_ He spoke to her through the Force. _"It's going to be okay."_

Naruto stayed like that for a minute as he sat there on his knees, doing his best to use the Force. For one terrifying moment, nothing happened.

Then, he felt it. He felt a wave of calmness and light coursing through his veins. Instead of feeling powerful, however, he felt calm. He was at peace.

Sabine moaned, and he opened his eyes. Much to his delight and relief, he saw the blood receding back into her body. Bones clicked and cracked as they were being gently mended back together. Bruises faded and swellings went down. Sabine's whimpers of pain turned into sighs of delight.

Naruto slowly lifted his hands, and listened for her breathing. Her breathing returned to normal, which made him smile.

Closing his eyes, he laid his head onto her chest as he fell asleep.

…

POKE. POKE. POKE.

Naruto grunted, before his hands shot up. It grabbed something thin, but soft.

"Ow! Naruto!"

He blinked, and he realized that Sabine was the one that was poking his cheek.

"Sorry." He grunted, letting go of her wrist. She rubbed her wrist, wincing at how hard he had grabbed it.

The two of them then fell into silence for a while, unable to say anything to each other, or even meet each other's gazes.

"..."

"..."

"...I'm sorry!/I'm sorry!"

The two of them simultaneously turned towards each other, and quickly shot out their apologies. When they noticed that they had both said their apologies in simultaneous haste, they looked away, embarrassed.

"I uhm, I'm sorry for being an ass to you all this time." Sabine finally managed to say. "I...I thought you weren't a true Uzumaki, and that pissed me off."

This made the blond raise his eyebrow.

"Um, wait a minute. What exactly do you mean by "true Uzumaki?"

Hearing this, the Mandalorian looked back into his eyes. "You really don't know, don't you?"

"No, I don't." Naruto's shoulder slumped, his eyes drooping to her knees. "I've been an orphan my entire life, with my parents killed minutes after I was born. Everyone in my life either refused to talk about my parents, acted like they didn't know, or claimed that they were nobodies. Hell, some of them even said that my mom was a whore, and my dad was a good-for-nothing drunk."

"Well, they're wrong." Sabine said quickly, her hands clenching on her knees. "If I'm correct about where you came from, you belonged to an ancient race of Mandalorians, who stayed behind on your planet to keep an eye out on an ancient monster that once lived there. At least, that's how the stories go."

This certainly got his attention, with his gloomy expression turning into one of desperate, childish interest.

"I don't know how much of the stories are true," Sabine continued, "But the one thing every clan can agree on is that at one point, the Uzumaki's became one of the strongest clans on Mandalore, my..._our_, homeplanet. They fought in the wars against the Jedi and the Sith, with them winning more battles than losing. Then at some point, they teamed up with the two factions to defeat a common enemy, which is why they fought and stayed on Elementia."

Naruto looked at her for a moment with a strange expression on his face.

"...So wait, why are you convinced again that I'm an Uzumaki?" He asked her. "It's not just because I kicked your ass, right?"

Sabine's eyebrow twitched at that, before she cleared her throat.

"No, it's because of _how_ you beat me that I became convinced that you were a Mandalorian by blood. You see, one of the reasons why the Uzumakis were one of the strongest clans was due to their ability to use the Force. The minute you used it on me, I knew that you weren't just some yellow-haired idiot that decided to steal the name."

Now it was his turn to grow a bit ticked, although he did his best to not show or express it.

"...Can you tell me more about our culture?" He asked softly. Sabine gave him a small, sad smile at that.

"I would, but maybe after we get out of here." She offered. "I mean, we are running low on oxygen, so the less we talk, the longer we'll survive."

"Oh...right."

The two of them sat in silence for a while, staring into each other's eyes.

"...You have pretty eyes, dattebayo."

"Eh?"

* * *

"So, what do you think brought down this old piece of junk?" Joseph asked.

"Who knows, amigo?" Jimmy just shrugged. "It looked like every part of this thing was ancient. I guess it was only a matter of time before it gave out."

They were at the lowest level of the mine with many others. Thankfully, the elevator wasn't the only way up and down these levels, which meant that more help was on the way.

"Well, this thing ain't gonna clean itself." Jimmy sighed. "C'mon, break over."

"Right."

The two of them resumed picking up large rocks and debris, sweating profusely. It was a humid night, and their clothes were already sticking to their bodies. They were back to work for only a minute, and they were already panting like dogs.

"Be very careful."

The two of them jumped at the sudden, gruff voice behind them.

"Jesus, Bomber. Don't fucking scare us like that." Jimmy groaned, clutching at his heart.

"Sorry." He breathed in and out after running up the stairs without a break, before he cleared his throat. "I hope I'm wrong, but I think 'Ruto and Peach is stuck under there. We need to be extra careful cleaning up this mess."

The two of them blinked, before they fully realized who he was referring to. Turning towards their colleagues, they began to spread the news of potential survivors in the crash. Bomber, meanwhile, stared at the pile of rubble with a grim look.

"Stay alive, kid. You're a survivor."

Almost as if responding to his words, the rubble suddenly began to tremble. Everyone's eyes widened at this, and they began to scramble for cover.

But not Bomber. He just stood there, prepared to help his friend out if needed. His feet began to move forward, when they froze in their steps. For a moment, he could've sworn that the rubble was levitating.

It stopped when the rubble began to further collapse on itself. A large, metal beam fell on top of the growing pile, and the trembling stopped.

Bomber just stood there, gobsmacked at what he just saw.

* * *

"Fuck, Naruto! Stop!" Sabine hissed.

Naruto, whose face was scrunched up from effort, finally let his arms drop, and the trembling stopped.

He had just tried to use the Force to lift the rubble off of them. Much to their displeasure, however, it only just made things worse, as the rubble collapsed on itself the minute he finally began to successfully lift the mess off of them.

Fortunately, it at least gave them some fresh air to breathe in, but now the space had been reduced, leaving them _very_ close to each other.

Nose to nose, the two teens could do nothing but sigh in displeasure as their situation had just turned from bad to uncomfortably worse.

"Well," Naruto grunted. "What now?"

"...Your breath kinda smells." Sabine complained.

"So does yours, dattebayo." He deadpanned.

The two of them just stared at each other. Without warning, they closed their eyes as their heads leaned into each other.

…

After what seemed like an eternity, the two finally parted. Panting, they stared at each other in wonder, stars in their eyes.

"Wow." Naruto breathed.

"Wow." She agreed, a small smile curling up her lips, before she sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"...I don't think we're going to make it." Sabine admitted, staring at the rubbed around them. "I never thought my life would end like this. I thought I'd die on the battlefield or something, not like this."

"Same here, actually." Naruto grunted. "Being a shinobi ain't a pretty career either, let me tell you that."

The statement wasn't meant to be comedic, but somehow, it made the Mandalorian girl giggle. "Well, I guess we're more alike than we thought."

"Yeah, I guess so." Naruto chuckled. He began to cough, forcing him to turn away from the girl.

*COUGH!* *COUGH!* *COUGH!*

Hearing his coughs grow eerily louder, she looked over his shoulder, and paled at the sight of blood splattering onto the ground.

"Naruto?! Hey, hey!" Sabine patted her palm onto his cheek. "You okay?"

"My-*COUGH!*-body hurts." He groaned. "Some shit...fell on me."

Gulping, she slowly lifted the back of his shirt, and paled at the sight of his terribly bruised back. If what he said was true, then his back might've sustained more damage than she thought.

"Shit, shit shit." Sabine muttered, her eyes darting around, unsure of what to do.

"It's fine, Sabine." Naruto groaned. "Should be fine…"

"Should be fine?! Are you crazy? You might be dying right now!"

"Just the life of a shinobi." He grunted, spitting out some saliva and blood. "The moment I signed up to become one, I knew what I was getting into. It's just a part of our lives. You get used to it."

"Stop talking." She whispered, tearing off a part of his shirt to wipe away the blood from his mouth. "Just...hold on, okay?"

"I don't have much to lose, which just makes this much easier." He sighed, his eyelids growing heavier. "I got no parents. Not many friends. Had to raise myself. Sucks that I never get to find out what they were like."

His hand rested on his stomach, exactly where his mark was. Despite him being a jinchuuriki, even he knew that there was only so much they can do, especially with how much the seal allowed them to do so. Still, even now, he could tell that Kyuubi was doing his best to keep his container alive, although at the moment, it was too slow of a job.

"Stop." Sabine whispered, her eyes shadowed by her hair and the dying light.

"You know, I meant it, dattebayo. You're...a good looking girl. Once you get past that stubborn nature of yours, you're not pretty bad yourself. Took me too long to stop looking at Sakura. Damn, I was an idiot. Falling for a stupid fangirl."

"Fangirls, huh?" Despite looming over Naruto's slowly dying body, even she couldn't resist a small chuckle. Back on Mandalore, she remembered how most of the girls in her class acted like good-for-nothing fangirls over the old ways, without even having any proper respect for their ancient culture. Most of them couldn't fight to save their lives, and mostly consisted of gossiping bullies that were more bark than bite. "So, any decent female shinobis back at home?"

"I can name a few." Naruto grinned painfully. "There was Ino, who was fangirl, but was actually kinda pretty good. There's Tenten, who really liked weapons. Then there's Hinata…"

His words began to trail off at the mention of the Hyuuga's name, which didn't fail to catch Sabine's attention.

"What about her?"

"...She was shy." He finally managed to say. "Sweetest thing to probably come out of my village. Was always nice to everyone, even me. Was a bit of a crybaby too, now that I think about it."

He stopped, and Sabine feared the worst, until she heard him slowly swallowing, wetting his throat.

"We…*hah*...graduated the same year. Turned out...she had a fucking crush on me. Me, of all people. She was so innocent, but so determined. So determined to not be a weakling. She's...strong." Naruto's eyes began to close as he was losing the battle to keep them open.

"Hey, HEY!" Sabine shook his shoulders. "Stay awake!"

"You know what?...You remind me of her a bit." Naruto smiled at her. "I mean...you're not very girly...but you both got the same, cool determination. Got...same smile too."

"You damn charmer." Sabine let out a dry chuckle as she brushed his hair out of his face. "Stay alive, and I'll make it up to you, okay?"

"I'll...take you up on that." He grinned, before he closed his eyes, the darkness finally taking him.

"Blondie? Hey, hey, HEY! Naruto, stay awake, buddy! C'mon, STAY AWAKE! NARUTO!"

* * *

SCREECH!

A large sheet of metal was slowly lifted from the pile. A few rocks began to tumble, but Bomber and the rest of the team moved to quickly stop them, in fear of the small avalanche accidently crushing the potential survivor.

After what seemed like an hour, they had finally spotted the two teens under the rubble. Bomber looked like he was about to poke fun at the two teens cuddling, when he paled at the sight of blood covering their bodies.

"Over here!" Bomber roared. "Survivors! Get the stretchers! Naruto is wounded!"

The two teens were carefully lifted out of there by the Russian giant. Gently placing them on the makeshift stretchers, he watched as they were being taken away to their crude medical center.

Sabine, who had just woken up, wearily reached out to Naruto, just as he was lifted away.

* * *

**(A Few Miles Away From Ölüm)**

Today was another beautiful morning for D'Nar. Stepping outside to enjoy the fresh air of Kessel's forests, his ears were filled with the sounds of loud construction.

While to many it was a perfect way to ruin a morning, for the zygerrian, it was the perfect way to start one. Sipping his tea, he sighed in delight as he watched the slaves below him work endlessly.

A new laboratory was being built on the edge of the forest, concealed by a large mansion that was also being built for D'Nar.

While normally he would not go behind the queen, he would make an exception in this case. Despite his loyalty to the queen, he admitted to himself that she can be rather short-sighted at times, and was, if he must be honest, a spoiled bitch that can't think outside of her world.

When the humans from Earth contacted them, they were admittedly a little concerned, worried that their illegal actions were discovered. Much to their relief, instead of the government, it was an organization that wanted to strike a deal with them. All they wanted was a place to run their illegal experiments, as well as some test subjects to do the said experiments on.

When the queen asked them what they had to offer, they promised them not just drugs, but also an army of biologically-enhanced slaves.

The queen, for a moment, seemed interested in the idea of using science to accelerate the process of obedience, but then decided to reject their offer, saying that Zygerria already had a powerful military as it is, and that their methods were adequate. Besides, she didn't want to risk getting the attention of the Republic, which would inevitably result in their army of Jedi bringing their glorious empire to ruin again.

Fortunately for D'Nar, the Prime Minister shared similar views with him, seeing huge promises in this research, and the two of them talked to this mysterious organization again in secret, and here they were.

"Sir, they've arrived." A Pyke member walked up to him.

"Let them in." He commanded.

The doors swung open as a group of men in hazmat suits walked in, carrying weapons and dragging in containers filled with supplies and force-knows-what with them. The filters on their faces made sure to not give away any part of their features, making them anonymous to the world. The one that stood out from the crowd was a young man in an expensive suit, who walked in with a confident grin. A large, black briefcase was in his right hand, which the zygerrian assumed and hoped was the money that was promised to him.

"You must be the professor, I assume?"

"Our sincere apologies, but no, I am his assistant." The human representative spoke, pulling something out from his suit. Kneeling to the ground, he placed the object onto the ground, and a holographic image of a professor appeared. His face and name tag was blurred out, with the rest of his body remaining clear as day.

"Who are you?" D'Nar demanded, his face turning into a scowl.

_"Mr. D'Nar, for my own safety I had taken the necessity of sending my best man on the job to come to our facility and help oversee the construction of it." _The professor's voice was scrambled, giving it a harsher, deeper tone.

D'Nar wasn't having this. "So you send a lackey here instead-"

_"Don't come to quick judgement like that, Mr. D'Nar."_ The professor chided. _"You out of all people must understand that individuals like myself cannot risk to be seen near planets like these. We on Earth are not that free of going around as you have that privilege, especially with my country's decision to join the Republic and my employer's alliances being on the opposite side."_

"Well, can't fault one on being careful" D'Nar grudgingly acknowledged.

_"We are all well versed in the art of politics, which has helped us get out of jams at times, but it is admittedly not my forte." _The scrambled voice nodded. _"I am a man of science, willing to do whatever it takes to unlock the secrets this universe has to offer.. For that, I will have to thank you and your Prime Minister for granting me this opportunity."_

"I'm glad to hear that, but so you know-" D'Nar smugly remarked, "My services come with a cost."

_"Of course."_ The professor replied, turning to his assistant. _"Give him the credits."_

The bald man nodded, before he lifted his briefcase. Opening it in front of the slaver, his mouth nearly salivated at the hundreds of thousands of golden credits.

"Should our partnership continue well, we will deliver your weekly payments." The professor stated, seeing the greed in the zygerrian's eyes. The said zygerrian was barely listening, chuckling as he grabbed a handful of credits, feeling them with his hand. He was so entranced by the credits that he didn't seem to notice a few slaves walking by with some cargo boxes.

One of those slaves, an old man who was here his entire life, looked at the partnership going on. He shook his head, before he resumed pushing the materials.

* * *

**AL: That's it for this chapter! Hope everyone here is doing alright. This lockdown is really spiking up many writers to publish some stories. Got like six of my favourites in one day uploading, like damn!**

**Also, I'll be working on my other stories. Plus, maybe some new crossover related to GTA. But I'm already working on both One Piece and GTA V stories some of you are waiting for. Plus the Saints Row one. **

**That's all I have to say. Please wash your hands, keep up the social distancing, and please watch out for yourselves! **

**Peace from me and the friend Lucius Walker. **

**Till next time.**


	7. Tensions Rising

**[ Ölüm - Infirmary ]**

The infirmary, much like the cafeteria, was one of the few locations inside of Ölüm that was primarily run by the slaves only. Similar to the cafeteria, the slavers from before found it necessary enough to grant to the slaves to slow down the mortality rate. Seeing it as a decent investment, they gave them the space, the permission to construct, and the materials and supplies, before they let them do the rest. To this day, the infirmary is one of the oldest sections of the mines that still existed to this day.

Mildly sterile and rather cramped, the infirmary was about the size of a classroom, with a part of it being used as an ER room with half working equipment, with storage cabinets bordering the room with a limited amount of medicines and bandages, which was only supplied by the slavers every once in a blue moon. The beds were ancient, with the covers and blankets being worn down from frequent washing and age.

Laying in one of those beds was Sabine, who was in a discolored hospital gown, and was under an equally disfigured blanket, who was staring at the ceiling for almost an hour. Coming back into consciousness an hour ago, she had just received the news that she had miraculously survived and healed from what was basically a vegetable state. Her skull still had hairline fractures, which had been treated by the nurse, Bellatrix.

The said nurse told her that she was free to go the next day, since the tiny fractures was basically healed at this point. Her blond friend (or was he her boyfriend at this point?), though, wasn't so lucky, and she informed her that he was going to be staying for at most a week, in which she was going to be working tirelessly on fixing him up. How she was going to do that in a week, she had no idea, considering how they had just run out of bacta a month ago.

That being said, he currently looked like shit, being nearly covered head to toe in bandages, and wasn't currently conscious at this point. If she didn't know any better, he looked almost comatose.

"Sabine Wren."

Hearing her name, she turned and looked at one of the few nurses in the mine. A pretty, young woman with dark brown hair in a ponytail, her name was Idel Laskov, and was a "resident" of this lovely mine for a year and a half. Due to her past history of being a medic in her country's army, she was saved from the terrible life of spice harvesting by being thrown in here, fixing up any wounded slaves, and occasionally the slavers as well. Her brother, who was unfortunate enough to be thrown in the mineshaft, was thought to be killed, mainly because she never got the chance to find out what had happened to him.

"Idel." Sabine smiled at her. "How you guys doing?"

The woman just gave her a sad smile. "Not too well, I'm afraid. Some of us had to be transferred somewhere, and we hadn't received any new supplies as of late. We were lucky that only Naruto here got injured this month.

"I'm...sorry to hear that." Sabine grabbing the nurse's hand. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Your role is not in here, Mandalorian." The other nurse said. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the dimly lit room, with her silver eyes piercing into her soul. "It is up there, where your heritage awaits."

"...Um, okaaay?" Sabine could only say. The Dathomirian lady was always a cryptic one from the start. Most stayed away from her, due to her heritage as a Nightsister witch, but she wasn't so bad when you got to know her. "In Basic, Bella?"

She just smiled at her, before she turned back to her blond patient. Cracking her neck, she picked up a bowl of water, before she began to wave it over the boy. The water began to glow green from her magic, and the boy began to groan, twitching as the glowing mist began to suddenly encircle him.

Sabine bit her lip as she watched Naruto groan in pain. If she didn't know about this woman, she would've thought that he was being cursed, when in reality, this was how she healed everyone.

It went on like this for a while, her healing ritual going non stop as she spoke her haunting chant. Finally, she put down the bowl, and the green glow had stopped, the magic water turning back into regular ones.

She let out a weary sigh as she sat down in her chair.

"I only learned the basics before I was taken." She tiredly explained to Sabine, who was the only new one in the medical room. "On top of that, the waters from my home planet don't even compare to the normal drinking water you get here. That's why I can never save those in life threatening injuries."

She placed her hand over the blond's head, and his groans had stopped as he fell into a peaceful slumber.

"Thank the Force that this boy has an incredible healing factor. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here right now."

Sabine lightly scrunched her eyebrows together in thought as she was brought back to their fight in the elevator, and how badly it ended for her. She began to wonder if she should tell them about the possibility of Naruto being a Jedi.

"Incredible healing factor?" Idel hummed in thought. "This boy is just full of surprises, isn't he?"

"Luckily, D'Nar was 'kind' enough to give him as much time as needed to recover." The bald woman stated. "Speaking of which, that Zygerrian's been in a good mood lately. I wonder why, though…"

"Like _I'm_ interested on why that bastard's smiling." Idel snorted. "The day you see _me_ smile is the day he never gets up."

Bellatrix smirked at that comment. "The feeling's mutual, friend. Until then, we'll just have to hold on. In the meantime, can you help me change his bandages?"

"Right." Idel and Bellatrix moved quickly but carefully on removing his blankets, nightgown, then his bandages. Slowly peeling off the bandages, which was now soaked in sweat and blood, it revealed a disturbing amount of scars, with what looked like two, large puncture wounds through his body.

"My God, I still can't get used to this." Idel shook her head. "How he got these scars are beyond me."

Sabine was staring at Naruto as they undressed him. While she was stunned and repulsed by his scars, she was more interested at how well built his muscles were. Her cheeks reddened a little as she realized what she was doing.

"While the Mandalorians are a race of warriors, even _they_ don't typically send their children out to die on the battlefield." Bellatrix said, gliding her hand over the boy's forehead. "From what little I've heard, the warriors from Elementia have no qualms about throwing their children to die for their foolish ideals. I suppose he was no different."

"That's just horrible."

"For you."

Bellatrix's hand began to glide lower and lower, until it halted over his stomach. Her eyes slowly closed as she let in a deep breath.

"Well, do they all have amazing healing factors like his?" Idel sighed, walking to the sink. "Anyways, if he wakes up anytime soon, tell him that he's free to go in about two or three days or so."

This brought a small smile onto Sabine's face. She had been planning on trying to thank him for saving her, especially everything she had done and tried to do. She, however, needed some time to prepare, and she needed to ask for some tips from a friend.

Bellatrix let out a small frown as her fingers twitched over his seal.

* * *

**[ Ölüm - Loading Docks (A Day Later) ]**

A pair of arms quickly wrapped themselves around Sabine as she stepped out of the staircase.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Sabine. You had us all worried." The green Twi'lek said, stroking her friend's head with her green hand. Within days of meeting each other, Hera quickly became like the bigger sister she never had.

"Thanks for your concern, Hera." Sabine hugged her back, before quickly breaking off, looking around them. "I'm doing alright, but I just need to take it easy for the next few days."

"Then you're in luck, amiga, cause Joseph decided to take your next two shifts." Jimmy walked past them, giving a nod at the Mandalorian. "Thanks to that guy, you'll be working on the docks for the next two weeks instead. Much better than digging up those spice if you ask me."

"I need to thank him for that." Sabine noted, looking around for the man.

"Nah, don't mention it. He's been doing that lately ever since that Kessoline incident. I heard that he's been acting a bit different lately, and started praying more now these last few weeks." Jimmy noted, scratching his head. "Tarik thinks he's been going through a religious experience of some sorts…"

Jimmy couldn't help but have a small crack of smile on his face. "I can actually see Joseph becoming a priest, with that hat on and robes."

"Yeah, I can see that too." Tarik joined the conversation, literally walking into the conversation while pushing a bunch of magnetically floating boxes. "But if he wants to do that, that's cool. Need more guys like him."

"What? Ain't you afraid of competition or something like that?" Adrik asked the Urzik man. "I know you're leading sermons down to some others down the night shifts."

Tarik laughed at their comments and replied back with a question "Man, where do you think I grew up with?"

"Urzkistan, where else?"

"Texas, my man." This got him a few shocked looks from the other humans around him. "Yeah, you heard me. Born and raised in the Lone Star State. Cowboy hats, barbecue, guns and shit. My kinda state."

"You're an American?" Adrik couldn't help but ask, looking up and down at the man.

"Yeah, my momma immigrated there in 95' just when she gave birth to me in Houston. Funny enough, my ma made me go to a Catholic school with a lot of Mexicans, not wanting to let me go to an Islamic school because she wanted me to become full American after some bastard pulled out her headscarf in public." He still remembered that dreadful incident, where he and his mother were just buying groceries. The irony was that his mother was rather open minded, and wouldn't wear a hijab most of the time, save for on Fridays, which this incident happened on.

"Wow, dude who did that must've been a dick."

"Actually, it was a woman, some religious nutter who thought the front of an energy drink was a sign of the Devil or some stuff like that." He rolled his eyes, before continuing. "I grew up speaking multiple languages. I can speak English, Arabic, German, and even Spanish, but I warn ya, it's broken like a McDonald's ice cream machine."

BANG!

Everyone jumped as a noise explosion echoed in the mining hole. Turning to look at the source of the noise, they realized that it was just a new tunnel being dug, with one of them using a controlled explosive to get started.

"Another tunnel? That's like, what, the fourth in two weeks?" Adrik noted. The spice mine has been undergoing a lot of surprising construction, from the rebuilding of the elevator to the growing number of new tunnels that seemingly led to nowhere. They tried to ask D'Nar about the new project, but he surprisingly refused to answer them, telling them that it was just a personal project. Any more questioning led to whipping and punishments, so everyone stopped asking.

"Yeah man. Pretty weird." Jimmy agreed. "Those tunnels don't have a lot of spice left in them, so why the hell does he want us digging there?"."

"Something's definitely up.." A random dock worker suggested. "Maybe they're making more rooms for us?"

Jimmy shook his head at that. "Then why haven't the supervisors told us about it yet? Normally the Pykes or the Zygs would let us know exactly what we're building so that we don't screw up . Also, I never seen those new dudes before. Covered head-to-toe, so I don't even know if they're humans."

Ibrahim then threw in his idea. "I heard rumours about a new mine being constructed not that far away. Maybe they want to connect some tunnels to our mine."

"Maybe." Jimmy shrugged. "Not sure why they're all hushed-lips about it, though."

…

While the rest of the men were having their light chatter, Hera and Sabine were having a private conversation of their own.

"Hera, I need to ask you about something."

"Uh, sure, what is it?"

A strange look on her face, Sabine looked around for a moment, before she pulled her friend away from the others. "I...want to thank and apologize to Naruto in a special way, but, uhm…"

Hera blinked, before she let out a silent gasp. The twi'lek had to hold back a loud, excited squeal as she figured out what she was asking. "You want to make it special, don't you?"

The Mandalorian teen rubbed her arm as she looked down at the ground. "I don't know how to…"

"Yeah, that's pretty obvious." Hera giggled, teasing the girl a bit. "I know someone in the kitchens who can smuggle in some protection for you, and maybe if you'd like-"

"That would be enough, really." Sabine said, trying not to blush at all. "Jeez."

Hera just chuckled as she put her arm around Sabine. "Don't worry, you'll do fine. Just do as I say."

* * *

D'Nar's face was scrunched up into a frown as he read through the holographic files he had just been given by the scientist standing in front of him.

"I must say, you're asking for a lot out of me." D'Nar finally said. "Tunnel networks, surveillance cameras, a large number of bacta tanks…" The entire list of equipment would've cost him a fortune if he was paying for all of it. Truth to be told, the only reason why he was concerned was due to the amount of manpower the entire project will take. Not to mention that he himself wasn't very sure of what the purpose of this entire operation was."

_"If there's any problems, you should know that the Umbrella organisation is more than willing to lend a hand in any financial, physical, or even legal help if needed."_

"No, there's no problems." D'Nar shook his head. "I'll just need to bring in more slaves to build all of this before your deadline. It would take a while to have all of this equipment up and running."

_"That I can understand, and so will the board. It's just a needed ratification if we're able to keep this operation going. Especially now that the first trial subjects have begun."_

This piqued the Zygerrian's curiosity. "You know, I've always wanted to know what kind of experiments you humans are running. The only thing I know about your group is that it's very well known, and yet, you appear to be running a much more darker operation than what's commonly allowed."

"We are a multinational, soon to be galactic corporation that's here for the people's benefits, Mr. D'Nar." The scientist said, pulling up another holograph. "We aim to further progress the people's potential, unlocking the secrets that lies within our very own selves."

D'Nar's words halted in his throat as he watched a holographic screen of a recording. A naked human was lying on the table, with scientists and machines surrounding it. One of them held up a syringe, injecting it into the body.

_"Observe, Mr. D'Nar." _The man spoke, excitement in his voice. _"Observe the small portion of power that God has kept away from us."_

D'Nar glared at the footage, unsure of what to expect, when the body began to twitch. The human began to growl like a rabid animal, foam pouring out of his mouth. His veins bulged from his body as he struggled to leave the table, with only the restraint belts holding it back.

"What is this?"

_"Keep watching."_

The camera zoomed in closer to the man, who let out a monstrous roar, blood and saliva dripping from its mouth. His head darted around, it's milky, white eyes searching for something to kill.

"You...You're trying to bring back the dead?" D'Nar asked, stunned from what he had just witnessed.

The man said nothing, motioning the Zygerrian to continue watching. His eyes turning back to the screen, he watched as the man - or creature, whatever this thing was now, - continued screaming, before it suddenly fell backwards. A vitals monitor somewhere began to emit a continuous, ear piercing noise, indicating that the organism's vitals had flatlined. The body twitched once more, before it stopped moving completely. Blood began to pour out of its ears and eyes and mouth, and the scientists around the test subject groaned in disappointment.

"What...was that?" D'Nar managed to ask, a trickle of sweat running down his hairy body.

_"That, my friend, was progress." _The scientist nodded, a look of twisted glee flashing in his eyes. _"We've been on the brink of achieving something far greater than even what the Republic has accomplished so far. All we need is enough time and more test subjects." _

"More test subjects?"

_"More details shall be given to you in the future."_ The scientist merely stated. _"Until then, let us continue to work together on this journey of progress. Good day, sir."_ The scientist gave one last nod, before the hologram shrank out.

D'Nar continued to stand there, staring at the spot where the hologram once was. Finally sitting down, he poured himself a glass of wine, hastily downing his drink.

"Earthlings." D'Nar said after putting his cup down. "Such a whole different breed of humans." Closing his eyes, he rubbed his head as he tried to comprehend what little he was allowed to see. Out of everything he's learned and done in the past 50 years, nothing was quite like what he had just seen, and honestly...it made him shiver.

_'What did I get myself into?'_

"Did you summon me, sir?" One of his trusted men, a Sentinel Pyke, had just entered the room, breaking the Zygerrian out of his thoughts.

"Ah, Zykol." D'Nar turned to the Sentinel. "I called you in earlier. Listen carefully, I need you to do something for me. I know you're going on a break soon, but I need you to dig up some information about the Umbrella Corporation."

"What kind of information?"

"Dig up on anything incriminating that's related to this corporation. Anything that we can use to get one over their heads; lawsuits, investigations, you name it. I want to know what I'm dealing with here."

"Where do you suggest I shall start?" Thinking for a moment, the Zygerrian then got an idea.

"Try traveling to the planet Earth. Go there on official business, and try to see if you can dig up on anything in the underworld. As backwards as they are, they're not too different than Coruscant."

"Will do, my lord." Zykol bowed, before turning around and leaving the room. Alone once again, he turned around and stared at the evening sky.

"Have I made a mistake by bringing these Earthlings in here?"

* * *

**[ Docks - (Night) ]**

The dock workers were busy pushing the last few carts into the last freighter. People were shuffling in and out of the mine as the day-shift slaves were slowly being replaced by their night-shift counterparts.

"That's the last one." One of the dock workers said once the job was done. "I'll tell the freight crew; you go and wait outside with the rest."

"Sure." Sabine nodded, walking out of the cargo area to join the others. Suddenly, Sabine felt someone grabbing her shoulder, and was pulled right under the wing of the ship.

"Hey, what the-" She turned around to see her Twi'lek friend. "Oh, Hera."

She held her finger to her mouth to keep her voice down, before she pulled out a small paper bag. "Here's what you asked for." Sabine accepted the bag and took a look inside of it. She then puffed out a big sigh of relief from her chest.

"Okay, go. Before someone sees us." Hera said, pushing her friend to the group of dock workers. Quickly shoving the package down her shirt, she shuffled towards the elevator, hoping to be the lucky ones that didn't have to take the stairs.

Hera smiled at the young girl as she walked back out, a night-shift worker walking towards her.

_'They're going to be such a great couple.'_ She smiled, holding her hand out. The night-shift worker quickly dropped a note onto her hand, walking by her like nothing had happened, leaving her to quickly put the note inside of her chest. Not even glancing back at the other worker, she walked back to her post.

* * *

**[ Ölüm - Infirmary ]**

"Good work today, Idel." Bellatrix smiled at the other nurse. "You can go rest now. I'll wrap things up here."

"Thanks." The Russian-Israeli nodded, before she left the room. The Nightsister looked back at Naruto, who was now awake. He remained lying on his bed while the Nightsister kept on doing her magic healing on him.

"So you said that you're a Force-sensitive too?"

"Indeed I am." The pale woman smiled. "I'm from the planet Dathomir, where many more of my sisters live. It is there that we can perform incredible feats with our magic."

"What can you do?" He asked curiously. "I'm only just starting to get used to having Force powers, and…" His look of childish curiosity turned into one full of somber regret, remembering what he had almost done to Sabine. Despite her starting the deadly confrontation, he still held regret for nearly killing her.

A small chuckle escaped the mouth of the Nightsister. "I'm sorry, but that is a secret. It's prohibited to talk about my people's powers to any outsiders. Surely, you'll understand that."

"Yeah, I do." Naruto nodded to her. "Makes sense, since I wouldn't tell much about _my_ abilities to anyone else." He told as little information to those who asked about it and he gave them a little bit of harmless information.

Despite him understanding, however, he was visibly disappointed. Seeing this, the Nightsister gave him a reassuring smile.

"But...maybe in the future when we escape, perhaps Mother Talzin would make an exception." Her voice suddenly sounded rather hypnotic, which made him blink. "After all, you would be a very formidable enemy, should you fall to the Dark Side, especially with that ancient beast that lies within your belly."

"But I'm not trying to make enemies." He protested, before his eyes widened. "And wait a minute, how do you know about the Kyuubi?"

"Is that his name?" She murmured, her hands tracing the outline of the seal over his stomach. "Interesting. It would appear that he is more than a savage beast than what many would think."

Her dreamy look vanished, being replaced by the one of weariness.

"In times of conflict, making enemies is inevitable." She stated grimly. "The only thing you can do is make the right friends to help you survive."

"Yeah." Naruto sighed, suddenly feeling more drained than ever. "Thanks for healing me, dattebayo."

Bellatrix just smiled as she gave him a small bow. "Just doing my job, child. Have a good night."

The pale nurse then left the room, switching off the main lights, leaving the blond shinobi alone in the dark with his thoughts.

_'I wonder if Kyuubi knows more about the Nightsisters.'_ His fingers trailed over his seal, the touch causing him to shiver. _'He does seem to know a bit about the Force. Maybe I can do that healing magic that Bellatrix-san did to me.'_

A thousand more questions began to crowd his mind, making him shake his head. Closing his eyes, he began to meditate to fall asleep.

Just as he was about to enter the world of slumber, the door opened, making his eyes shoot wide open. His fingers already on his crafted knife, he relaxed when he recognized the feminine form entering the room.

**(Yes, Lemon time, people. You've been busy a lot on this. So enjoy.)**

"Sabine?" He whispered at the girl. "What are you doing here so late? You're not hurt, are you?"

Much to his surprise, the brash, tomboy gulped, fidgeting as she struggled to do or say anything. Finally making up her mind, she turned on the lights only partially so that it was dimly lit, and he was better able to see her nervous expression.

CLICK.

He blinked, and he realized that she had just locked the door, sending some red flags across his head. He braced himself for her to attack him again, when he paused.

Her hands behind her back in front of the closed door, she was biting her lip as she stared at the floor, somehow being unable to meet his eyes. Further studying her face, he realized that her cheeks was red.

"Uhhh, Sabine?" His heart began to pound a bit faster as she walked up to him. There was something about the way she was walking that made him feel a bit...hot. Maybe it was her unusual shy expression, which he thought was cute. Or maybe it was her legs, and how her thighs seemed to sway noticeably as she was walking towards him.

Before he could say anything else, she crawled onto his bed, and was on her hands and knees above him.

His breath leapt out of his throat as she made this daring move. The two teens were blushing as they were staring at each other, their noses almost touching. It reminded them of when they were trapped underneath the elevator rubble.

"Uhm, Sabine, what-" His words were cut short the moment Sabine planted her lips against his. Catching him totally off guard, she quickly took full control of his mouth. He didn't resist, simply unsure of how to react to this turn of events.

Feeling uncomfortable at staring at each other, they closed their eyes as they melted into each other. His tongue began to wrestle with her's as her body slowly fell onto him.

Her chest pushed against his weakened body. His breath tensed up at the soft sensation; she wasn't wearing her armor. Blushing, his eyes shot open as she began to grind on his body. She moaned sensually, and that was all his body could take.

"You're getting hard." She whispered into his ear, before biting it lightly. He hissed in pleasure, and she grinned, feeling his manhood growing even bigger.

Naruto couldn't think. How could he, in this situation? There was a pretty girl who was grinding herself onto him, and was making out with him like he was in one of Jiraiya's _Icha Icha_ books.

Naruto might've been dense as a rock when it came to girls, but even he knew that he was the luckiest son of a bitch at the moment.

His mind snapping out of the haze, he took a moment to enjoy her scent. She smelled and tasted like...strawberries, or a sweet peach. Looks like she was preparing for this moment.

A fire lit up in his eyes as he realized that she was doing all the work. A smirk stretching from his lips, his hands moved from her lower back to her plump rear. She let out a muffled squeak of surprise as his hands began to fondle her ass.

"Baby got back~" He murmured teasingly, making her blush even harder.

"S-Shut up." She muttered as she nearly tore open his hospital gown. She sobered up a little when she saw all the scars on his chest, including the ones she inflicted on him.

Feeling her stop, he stopped to see what was the hold up. Noticing her look of guilt quickly dampening the mood, he took one hand off of her rear, and placed it on her cheek.

"Hey, it's okay. It's behind us." He reassured her. "Besides, we're even now, remember? I forgive you already, dattebayo."

"Still," She murmured softly, her eyes still full of guilt, "I need to apologize to you. S-So, do...do you want me?"

He stared at the Mandalorian girl in disbelief. Despite him seeing her vulnerable side once before, it still came as a shock for him when she asked whether or not he wanted her. Smiling at the bashful girl, he gently lifted himself up, and kissed her. No lustful passion was behind this liplock - just a gentle, reassuring one that told her that he truly had no more hard feelings towards her, especially after realizing just how far she was willing to go to apologize.

It wasn't a rough, passionate kiss, but it was enough to make Sabine relax, making her moan under his lips. Whatever confidence she lost she regained twice fold when she felt his cock come back to life.

"I-I want to try something." Sabine said meekly. Judging by the way she was _definitely_ unable to meet his eyes, he assumed that it would be something embarrassing.

And fun.

Swallowing his saliva, he just nodded at her, a hint of nervousness but curious excitement in his eyes. Taking a deep breath to encourage herself, she slowly got off of him, and motioned for him to sit at the edge of the bed. Curious, he just did as she ordered, and watched as she got on her knees.

_'Wait, is she-?'_ Was all he was able to think, before she lifted off his hospital gown, revealing his erect cock. She stared at it in wonder, still trying to comprehend that it was her first time seeing a man's sex. Leaning her head forward, a strong smell had entered her nose, and she couldn't help but give his cock a few sniffs.

_'Ah crap.'_ Naruto began to sweat. _'Do I smell bad? Maybe I should've hit the showers real quick before we did this? What if-!'_

His eyes nearly bulged out as she suddenly took his cock, and rammed it into her mouth. Surprised by how large it was, she was evidently unprepared as it hit the back of her throat. Quickly pulling it out of her mouth, she began coughing endlessly.

"A-Are you okay?" His anxiety came back at full force, and his hands were hovering in the air stupidly, unsure of what he could do to help her out.

"Y-Yeah." Sabine chuckled as she continued coughing. "Just...got a bit ahead of myself."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, before they both lightly chuckled at the unintentional joke. Finally feeling ready again, Sabine tucked her hair behind her ear, before took his head into her mouth again. Learning from her mistake, she went slowly, taking in his mass one millimeter at a time.

This meant that she ended up tasting every inch of him, inhaling his scent and taste.

_'Huh, not bad.'_ Sabine's heart pounded as she began to bob her head back and forth. _'It's kinda sweet and salty. ...Fuck, I think I like it.'_

Her body felt hot as she was rewarded with his moans of pleasure. Feeling empowered at pleasing him in such a lewd way, she began to go harder and faster, her lips stretching out a little the faster and harder she went.

SLURP. SLURP. SLURP. SLURP.

Despite her best attempt at being quiet, the sound of her devouring his cock echoed in the room. Both Naruto and Sabine were afraid and aroused at the idea of someone overhearing them.

_'Fuck, why is this turning me on so much?'_ Sabine wondered. Her right hand was inside of her skintight pants, touching her burning crotch in an effort to satisfy its arousal. In the heat of the moment, she decided to try taking his dick even deeper, nearly slamming her head into his crotch. His cock finally found itself in her throat again, and this time, she was able to keep it there.

Feeling a little proud of herself, she took a moment to enjoy the weird, suffocating, and yet pleasurable sensation of his cock filling up her throat. For someone who was still so young, he turned out to be surprisingly hung when erect, and a part of her felt proud at being able to claim this dick before anyone else.

"S-Something's coming!" Naruto hissed, trying to hold back his orgasm. "I-I'm gonna-"

_'CUM!'_ Sabine finished for him, plunging her fingers into her snatch. Her eyes widened as she felt his cock bulge a little, before filling her mouth with his hot, gooey cum.

Panicking, she managed to quickly yank his cock out of her throat before she could choke on his essence. Her mouth already full of his jizz, she wasn't prepared for him to shoot out a couple more strands of his semen onto her face.

"*GULP*, *GULP*, Fuck, Naruto, you didn't tell me - *cough* - you had this much ammo." Sabine said with a sly grin after she recovered.

"...Sorry?" Naruto sheepishly apologized, unsure of what to say or do now. He was mostly staring at Sabine's cute face, which was now stained with his cum. Noticing where his eyes were, Sabine scooped up his cum off of her face, staring at her gooey fingers. Looking at him in the eyes, she slowly and deliberately stuck it in her mouth, giving it a long, sensual licks and sucks.

"Mmm, Naruto~ I didn't know you were so daring, marking me as yours like that." She purred. "I guess you have some balls after all."

She looked back down at his crotch, and did a double take at how it was still erect.

"...Well then." She licked her lips at the sight of his messy cock standing up in the air like a rifle. She stood up, before she slowly and teasingly began to shed her clothes. Naruto stared at her, enchanted by the sultry dance she was attempting as she lost her clothes. Entranced by her intense eyes, he barely noticed as she crawled under his covers. Still on top of him, she began to grind him again, only this time his wet, naked cock was grinding against her moist, pussy lips.

"Fuck." She growled, her hips growing faster by the second. "I'm just grinding you, but this feels _so_ fucking _good_."

"Same." He grunted, his breaths turning into pants as she jerked him off with her thighs. Sabine hissed in pleasure as he breathed onto her nipples, which was _very_ close to his face.

Naruto swallowed hard as he stared at the two, growing melons that was swinging back and forth.

_'Should I?'_ He thought to himself, suddenly getting a weird idea. Unbeknownst to him, Sabine had some kinky thoughts herself.

_'Fuck, I...wanna go further.'_ Sabine stared at the boy below her lovingly, biting her lip as her anxiety and tension began to grow in her tummy. _'But...is it going to hurt?'_

The two of them blinked as they realized that they were just staring at each other. Stopping for a moment to shake their heads, a look of determination filled their eyes.

_'Alright, I'm going to do it!'_ They both thought. Before she could change her mind, she thrusted her hips forward one more time, before slamming them down, just as Naruto snapped his head forward, his mouth enveloping one of her nipples.

"FUCK!" Sabine shouted in surprise as her eyes widened. Not only did she not expect him to be that bold, but the sudden intrusion shot a spike of pain and pleasure up her body. Realizing that she had just shouted, she covered her mouth with both of her hands.

"Are you okay, Sabine?" Naruto whispered/groaned, his cock feeling like they were being squeezed by a wet, soft vice. Despite his concern for Sabine, he couldn't help but enjoy the unique feeling of them graduating from their virginity. This was nothing like masturbating, which he could only do sparingly. Unlike his hands, her vagina was tight, warm, and wet. Even though he was forcing her tight babymaker to loosen up, he could tell that for a while, she's going to be _very_ tight.

"Y-Yeah." She gritted her teeth, hissing in pain as her eyes was squeezed shut. Some moisture began to crowd in her eyes as they threatened to turn into tears. "N-No biggie."

Grunting, she lifted her hips upwards, before slowly lowering them, creating a whole, new wave of pleasure for the two of them.

For Naruto, it felt like his cock was back in her mouth again, except this time, her teeth wasn't scraping his skin. Instead, it was all flesh. One large, soft, wet, squishy mouth that was greedily trying to take his entire penis.

For Sabine, once the sharp pain went away, she felt like she could fly. Every movement, every scrap of flesh to flesh sent waves of pleasure up her body, threatening to make her cum with each wave of euphoria.

And that's when somebody knocked on the door.

"Naruto? You alright?"

The two of them froze. It was Idel! She must've heard her muffled shout, and came running.

Thinking quickly, the Mandalorian girl told Naruto to lay on his side, before she did the same, reluctantly taking his cock out of her. They threw the blanket on top of themselves, just as they heard the door unlock.

They heard Idel walk inside, pausing after a couple of steps.

Shit. Were they caught?

"Naruto? Are you alright?" Her gentle voice seemed as loud as a hurricane in the tiny room.

"...Yeah." He finally answered back, making Sabine look back at him with the look that said, _"Are you crazy?"_ "Just...had a nightmare. I'll be fine."

"Oh, okay then." She responded back. An awkward pause lingered in the air, and judging by the way she was shuffling, Idel could feel it too. "I'll just...unpack the supplies into the storage locker."

They then heard her move dangerously close to their bed. Thank the Force that they had cubicle curtains, cause if not, she definitely would've saw them.

Sabine squirmed uncomfortably, starting to feel a little hot, due to how close they were. Naruto's eyes wandered downwards as he felt her naked butt accidently grinding on his still wet dick. He grew hard again at the sight and sensation of his manhood being sandwiched between those large cheeks, and before he knew it, he was adjusting his body.

"Naruto, what are yo-MMF!" Sabine had to cover her mouth again as he slowly slid his cock back into her ruined pussy.

"W-What the kriff are you doing?" She hissed at him, blushing as she tried so hard not to moan in pleasure, since Idel was just on the other side of the curtain, putting away the new medical supplies.

Naruto's grin widened as he slowly began to rock his hips back and forth, making Sabine moan into her hands again. She whimpered as he took over as the dominant one, fucking her without her having any way to get out.

And fuck, it was hot. Sabine wouldn't admit it, but somehow, the thought of getting caught by Idel excited her, making her even tighter.

Still, that didn't mean that she was going to submit that easily. With a smirk matching her man's, she began to thrust her hips back at him.

The look of cocky defiance in her eyes encouraged him to go faster, and not wanting to lose to him, she went faster too.

They were hot, wet, and sweaty, but they refused to take off the covers. They also refused to stop, as a silent contest had ensued, where no one would leave until they came.

_You think you'll make me cum?_ Sabine gave him a challenging look, with a smirk that barely hid her look of pleasure. In response, he leaned his head forward, catching her lips with his. Their hot breaths intermingled with each others as they began to swap saliva, satisfying their thirst.

"Mmm." Sabine moaned, her eyes dazed and unfocused as the two warriors were lost in a world of pleasure. Muffled moans and sighs filled the bed as they grinded against one another, wishing for this moment to last an eternity.

Finally, the moment came when their fun had to end. No words were exchanged, but they both somehow knew that their climax was coming.

_'I love you.'_ They both thought together as they came. Despite where they were, despite the collars around their necks, they were content.

Satisfied, they both fell asleep, just as the nurse left.

**(Ending lemon)**

* * *

**(The next day)**

Sitting on the examination bed, Naruto was buttoning up his shirt whilst waiting for Bellatrix and Idel's return. He had gotten up early since the Zygs were calling in all the slaves in the infirmary to be called working again.

He was now a bit focused on trying to fix the last button of his shirt that Sabine had accidentally ripped open last night. Not that he didn't enjoy it, but it was a bit irritating to deal with at the moment.

"Naruto." He looked up to see Bellatrix enter the room with her report.

"Guards are waiting for you outside." She informed him. "You've been assigned back to your post in the underground." The Nightsister said with a frown. She tried to convince the supervisor to place Naruto on a less problematic post so he could work without any implications for his healing back. As expected, he just told her to get him out of the room, before he gives the blond a reason to stay there a bit longer. Bellatrix scowled, but said nothing else, before heading back to the infirmary.

"Yeah, figured. Those slavers always had it out for me." Naruto sighed, finally fixing up the button.

Bellatrix then pulled out from under her coat a small brown bag. "Some painkillers, just in case. Plus a new water bottle."

"I'll take the water." Naruto said, grabbing the bag and shoving it under his shirt and into his pants. "I'll keep the painkillers for someone else. I personally don't need them."

"Alright then, just try to take it easy on your back; it needs more resting."

"Yeah, tell the Zygs that." Naruto said with a huff. "But don't worry, I'll watch out with myself." He stood up and cracked his neck before walking past the Nightsister. "Thank you for taking care of me."

"You're welcome." She said as Naruto opened the door and closing the door behind him. A small, goofy giggle escaped her lips as she stared at his bed.

…

The minute Naruto closed the door behind it, a wide, uncontrolled grin spread across his face as he held back a loud whoop. It took him everything to not smile like a clown as he talked to Bellatrix, remembering the fond memory he made last night on the same bed he was sitting on.

"The hell you smiling about?" One of the Pyke Sentinels asked. The blond just shrugged at him with an innocent look, which made them roll their eyes, but said nothing more of it. They lead him back to his post underground, and they walked passed back the now completed elevator.

Sabine just finished bringing out some empty crates with the others, she took a brief break to see Naruto being escorted by the Sentinels to the elevators to be most likely brought back to the underground.

There were a group of fellow slaves working to push boxes in and out of the elevator, with one of them in particular catching his eye. Leaning on the cool, metal wall to take a break, Sabine wiped away from sweat from her forehead. She let out a sigh of relief, before she opened her eyes.

The moment the two made eye contact, the blond winked at her, giving her a small cocky smirk that made the Mandalorian blush. She turned away quickly so that she wouldn't give him the

satisfaction of watching her flushed expression, but judging by Hera's equally irritating smirk, she failed to do the job.

Once the Sentinels were gone, Hera just patted her on the shoulder, her grin never leaving her face.

…

"By Allah, brother, welcome back!" Ibrahim shouted while hugging the former shinobi high up in the air with such joy that he couldn't contain anymore. Joined by an equally happy Adrik, who slapped his big hand on Naruto's back, many of the underground workers were happy to see for once one of their own to be alive than being one of the dead.

"Glad you're still with us, Ruto." Adrik said with a smile "Bomber and Jimmy send their regards to you, saying they've kept their hopes for you."

"Thanks Adrik." He slapped hands with the Russian. "It's always good to hear it from you, man." He saw that Tarik and Jimmy came walking up towards him to greet him.

"Good to see you still breathing, brother." Tarik gave him a friendly hug with a pat on the back.

"Yeah, thanks for that, Tarik." Naruto tapped the Urzuki-American on the back, before turning to the Mexican. "Jimmy."

"Carnal, I got some news for you." They shook hands while the man explained. "I managed to convince one of the operators with some smokes to switch his round with yours, so you can take it easy to work upstairs with Hera for a week. You know, to keep yourself from breaking down."

"Hey, I appreciate it." Naruto thanked the experienced miner with a fist bump. "Can I ask what's with all the construction going upstairs?"

Tarik shook his head. "We don't know, man. It's been going on for months apparently, but now these last few weeks construction seems to be close to the mine. All the supervisors are silent about it."

"Could it be that they are just expanding production? It wouldn't be the first time." Naruto suggested. "Those Zygs would certainly do that."

"What are you all waiting for?" One of the regular slaves noticed them. "Get to work before you'll get in trouble."

"Right, let's get to work, people." Adrik clapped his hands. This prompted the group to split up and return to their work, with Naruto following Tarik and Ibrahim to their mineshaft.

"Another day in this hellhole." Ibrahim groaned while putting his goggles on. "I would kill for a decent meal, I swear."

"Yeah, I can agree with that."

"You said it, Texas. You said it." Ibrahim nodded as they both got back to their work. Meanwhile, Naruto was left to his own thoughts, thinking about last night. As funny it may sound, he was not complaining about today for working back in this shit hole.

…

It was an exceptionally hot day on Kessel, reason was because an heatwave had been coming over the planet for two days, and to make it worse, it was an hell, in the last twenty four hours many of the non-human sentients died of dehydration because they were in the lower levels.

It was an exceptionally hot day on Kessel.

A heat wave had been raging throughout the planet for two days, and to make it worse, Hell was not spared from the unforgiving weather.

In the last twenty-four hours, almost 200 slaves in total died from a heatstroke or from dehydration. Most of them were beings like wookies, who were unfortunate enough to have been born with so much hair in a place that didn't care. None of them were amongst those Naruto knew personally, but it was still a horrifying scene to watch the bodies rain from above, thrown away like yesterday's garbage.

Right now, Naruto was transferred to the docks, where he now was busy loading up crates of Coaxium fuel into the freighter that was waiting for its loads. With the help of the first person he had met on the planet, he was almost done with the last crate.

"Dooone!" Naruto cried out as he wiped the sweat from his head. His shirt was gone, discarded aside a long time ago, only wearing his pants and shoes. He quickly looked towards Zeb the Lasat, who wasn't doing well, due to his fur. Drenched in his own sweat and panting like a dog, he didn't look like he was doing very well.

"Zeb…"

"I'm alright, kid." The Lasat croaked, holding unto himself as he tried to hide the fact his knees were about to give in. "Just need...to rest."

"Hey, HEY!" Naruto pulled out his water and opened his cantine and gave it to him. "Drink!"

Not refusing for a minute, he quickly downed the cantine, spraying some onto his face and eyes to cool down and regain consciousness.

The minute the canteen was emptied, Zeb fell over. Naruto grunted as he caught him. Other slaves quickly ran up to them, the others either offering their water or helping the blond get him out of there.

"Easy, big fella." Naruto said, patting the Lasat on the back. "We've finished that shipment, take a few moments to rest, alright?"

"Will do…" Zeb groaned as he fought to stay conscious. The other slaves moved to quickly drag him out of the unforgiving sun, just as another familiar face walked into the scene.

Hera looked behind her for a moment with slight worry, before turning back towards Naruto.

"I hate to give you more work, but a new shipment of Coaxium is about to be brought up here, and I need some more hands to help me do the job."

"Will do." Naruto sighed.

"Hey, a new batch of slaves has arrived." One of the slaves cried out. This made everyone pause in their steps, turning towards the small army of Pyke Sentinels and Zygerrian supervisors who were approaching an incoming cargo ship. It's landing gear set in place, the doors opened, allowing the "cargo" to let itself out.

"BWAAAH!"

The slaves flinched as the shrill sound came from the arm of an elderly Twi'lek, who was holding his two-year old toddler. He was amongst the first of many slaves to have been forced out of the ship, with an elderly pair of humans following immediately behind the father.

"Are those-why are kids here?"

"Don't tell me they are letting the elderly work here? They won't last a week."

"What a new low." The other slaves shook their heads with disgust as many of the new victims were either too old or too young, with some of them even carrying children. It wasn't a new sight, but it was never pleasant to see, especially in larger numbers.

"This is unusual." Hera murmured, scratching at her lekku. Naruto had to agree; it didn't make sense why the slavers would willingly buy children and elderly. They were the first ones to usually die, and in the long run, they were just more trouble than they were worth, for one reason or another.

"NO!"

Naruto's head turned towards a fight that had just ensued. A mother was cradling her young child, shielding it from the sentinels as they tried to pry them apart. The father was already pinned down to the ground, with one of the Zygerrians electrocuting him mercilessly.

"FUCKING BASTARDS!"

A flash of red, before one of the Pykes flew backwards with a pained cry. A redheaded woman had stepped in the fight, and was currently trying to take down the other slavers.

"Stop her!" The Zygerrian roared as he stopped shocking the human male.

"GO FUCK YOURSELVES, SHITHEADS!" That voice came from a redhead who was already a hothead and picked up a fight with over half a dozen guards, with her kicking some of the guards close to the family and not being polite by hitting them in the groin if she could. Not being able to believe what he heard, that voice was way to familiar to him.

"GO FUCK YOURSELVES, SHITHEADS!" The redhead roared as she knocked out another Pyke guard, smashing the control for her collar before he could push it.

"No way…" Naruto's eyes widened when he got a good look at her.

ZZZZZPT!

"ARGH!" The girl collapsed as her collar activated. One of the nearby Pykes finally managed to push the button. The minute he lifted his thumb off of the controller, the others began to kick and punch her.

"Enough!" The Zygerrian guard from before walked up to them, prompting the Pykes to back off from her. Bending over, he checked on the unconscious human, and noticed that she was unconscious, foaming a little at the mouth. He glanced at the guards, who were grunting in pain as they gingerly rubbed at their bruises.

"Little disobedient bitch!" He roared, kicking the young woman in the head. "You just earned yourself a lesson in the detention cells, girl!"

Naruto and the others just watched them drag her away, a scary amount of blood beginning to trail from her head, as if a demented god began to paint the canvas red. They headed towards the elevator, which made the crowd part aways, not willing to be in their way.

A grim silence filled the air as the slaves stood in horror, mortified at what had just happened. Then, _it_ happened.

BANG!

"DAD!"

Naruto and the others spun around at the sound of the blaster fire. Their eyes widened as the father fell backwards, a smoking hole on his chest. One of the Pyke Sentinels had shot the father, while another one was pinning down the child onto the ground. The mother screamed in horror as she ran over to her fallen husband's side, trying to wake him up.

But it was too late.

The Pyke that had just murdered the husband now pointed the blaster onto the mother. "Stand up, woman."

"Ephraim…" A tear fell onto the dead man's face as she stroked his beared chin. "I'm sorry."

Her other hand was reaching down her late husband's chest pocket.

"I said get up!"

SLNK!

The mother had whipped out a blunt knife from the pocket, and sank it deep into the Pyke's neck. This made everyone gasp at her brave action of defiance.

The Pyke stumbled backwards, dropping his blaster as he clawed at his throat. He tried to call for help, but all that came out was wet, sick gurgles as he began to bleed out.

POW! POW! POW!

The woman stumbled backwards as a flurry of blaster bolts slammed into her body. She staggered backwards, before falling over, dead before she hit the ground.

"MOM!" The little boy cried out. The Pyke, too stunned at the sudden death of his comrade, didn't stop the boy from running towards his dead parents. The whole area fell into silence at the sudden deaths that had just occurred, with both sides unsure of what to do or say for the moment.

SMACK!

The boy let out a cry as D'Nar, who had suddenly ran into the scene, had punched the little boy, sending him flying towards the edge of the mine.

"Perhaps I've been too kind on you _slaves_." He spat out the last word. "It's time I set a proper example on what happens if you disobey me and upset the peace!"

Grabbing the two dead bodies, he stomped over to the edge, where the boy sat there in terror. Grinning, he flung the bodies over the edge.

"Go join your parents in Hell." He grinned, before kicking the boy off the edge. The boy screamed, his arms reached out in a fruitless attempt to grab the Zygerrian's hands, which was mockingly stretched out, before quickly pulled back. The Zygerrian laughed, his hideous laugh overwhelming the dying cries of the boy as he fell to his doom.

At this, Naruto tried to run towards the edge, but one of the Pykes activated his collar, making him fall flat on his face.

"Back to work!" The Pykes shouted, firing blaster bolts into the air. The slaves quickly scattered, not willing to be the next into their grave.

The slavers were about to leave, when they noticed two slaves still standing there. It was the Lasat Zeb and the Elementian Naruto. Zeb, who was trying to help Naruto with his broken nose, glared together with his friend at the slavers, who just glared back as they raised their blasters at them.

"Didn't you hear us, slaves? Get back to work!"

The duo continued their menacing glare, before they reluctantly turned around, leaving the area to return to the mines.

"You alright, kid?" Zeb asked the human boy next to him.

"No, Zeb, I'm not." Naruto answered. "No I'm not. Those bastards need to pay for what they're doing."

"Feeling's mutual, kid." Zeb grunted, rubbing his collar. "Feeling's mutual."

A lightbulb suddenly went out in the staircase, making Zeb jump. His hair began to rise up as he felt something dark in their with them.

Walking down the staircase, they paused when they saw Sabine leaning on the wall. The minute she saw Naruto, she walked over to him, slowly grabbing his hand to try to comfort him.

And just like that, the dark presence left, and Zeb let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He shuddered, the cold, suffocating feeling never leaving his body. He had no idea what it was, and frankly, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"Let's go." Sabine murmured into Naruto's ear, before kissing his cheek. He just nodded, before they continued on their way. Stepping through the door-less doorway, he was greeted with the sight of the newly arrived slaves, who were already being rounded up and escorted to their stations, not knowing what lied ahead for their future.

What got his attention was the glimpse of a young Twi'lek girl, who was sitting on her father's shoulder. She was staring directly at Naruto, and the minute he caught her eye, she waved at him.

All he could do was wave back as he watched them being taken away. His breathing becoming heavier, his fists began to clench. The lights began to flicker as a light tremor shook the room.

_'Dios mío.'_ Joseph Ibarra shivered. He stared at Naruto, whose eyes were glowing yellow from hate. Crossing himself, he muttered the words, _"__El justo se alegrará cuando vea la venganza, se lavará los pies en la sangre de los impíos__."_

Sabine, confused at the message, asked, "What does that mean?"

Joseph's face was grim as he translated:

**"The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked."**

* * *

**AL: Alright everyone! Me and LW finally finished this chapter. It's been a busy few weeks for us both, hope ya'll understand.**

**Anyway, a side note to those who read my other stories; for those reading my GTA story and might have read my note on that, I am halfway on finishing that first chapter. Don't worry, I'll still write the other GTA for those fans.**

**… **

**It's Lucius Walker here. I have opened my ko-fi account. Link is in my profile, and the description is on the website, as well as my email. If you have any questions, please just ask through there, although you could also ask via if you want. **


	8. The Calm

_AL: Hello everyone, we're back with another chapter and I know some of you all have been waiting for quite a while, but because my good Beta Writer Lucius Walker needed to study for his exams and I myself had some personal issues to settle, we had to postpone this chapter for like a month so we both could focus on our issues. Now we both had some time to continue with this chapter, and we hope we can continue this story in the future. _

_Also on a different note, many of you who were followers of my GATE X Naruto fanfiction, I have been really struggling about remaking it or establishing a new story, due to the massive hate I received (not the fair criticism from some), but the many anonymous reviews that just kept spamming nonstop, so if you'd like me to make the story again but differently, let me know. And if you're interested in being a Beta writer, you can message me all the time._

* * *

The bodies rained from the sky again, a cruel joke from the gods above. Bomber should've been used to the twisted miracle at this point, but every time a body crashed into the ground, the hardened man felt shivers down his spine.

Bomber's face of stone concealed one of terror and despair, a reflection of the expressions etched onto the faces of the corpses before they met their demise. He was lucky that he was wearing his mask so he doesn't have to deal with the awful stench of death in the air.

Punching a few buttons, the cremator roared to life. He turned around to the conveyor belt, where he stacked a pile of corpses that were waiting to be sent to their fiery grave. His shirt was off, but he was already beginning to sweat - the fire didn't help with the already sweltering weather.

Fanning himself with his shirt, he began walking up the conveyor belt to turn it on.

"...Help…"

The man froze in his tracks, his fingers hovering above the button. His head looking around, he began to wonder if the heat was finally getting to his brain. Shrugging, he pushed the button, and watched the belt move the bodies towards the hungry furnace.

"Somebody...help me.."

Okay, now Bomber was sure that he heard a voice. Looking around, he began to walk towards the general direction of the voice.

"Who's there?"

"Help." It was a low, raspy moan, but Bomber's eyes widened to the max. "Please, help."

"Hold on kid, I'm coming!" Bomber yelled, his body moving into a full sprint as he ran towards the sound. "Just keep talking, I'm on my way!"

Leaping over piles of bodies, he began to climb over the hills of corpses.

"Please, my mom…" That sounded close, just over another hill of bodies. Making a turn around the pile of corpses, he saw a boy weakly kneeling over a body that wore orange clothing. Getting closer, he saw that he was staring at the body of a woman, who looked to be on death's doorstep.

"Chyort..." Bomber cursed, realizing what he was looking at. The child turned around, staring at the large man with tears and despair in his eyes. He began wailing, begging for the giant's help to save his mother. Bomber could do nothing but bite his lip under his mask, knowing that it was too late for her.

"Ezra." The mother touched the boy's hand, making him turn back to her. Despite the grievous injuries she sustained, from the blaster bolt to the deadly fall that was cushioned from all the bodies, it was a miracle that she still had the strength to give her boy a trembling smile.

"M-Mom?"

"Ezra...dear." She coughed, spitting out some blood. "It's...it's going to be okay."

Her son just nodded, weeping silently as he refused to let go of her cold hands.

"Just...promise me something, my baby boy."

Ezra nodded, his lips trembling as he choked up on his words. He leaned in close so that she could say her final words to him.

…

Bomber was no stranger to death, but it didn't make it hurt any less to watch one grieve. Every single one of the poor boy's sobs cut another piece of his soul away as the child begged for his mother to come back.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Mira Bridger had passed away, with the large man being unable to watch another person die in this shit hole.

"What a cruel world." The Undertaker of the Mines sighed. "What a cruel world."

* * *

**(Level 1 - Assemble Area)**

Like the other slaves before them, it took some time to bring all of the new slaves into one area, being forced to line up in rows, who were waiting for their turn to be inspected and registered, before being shoved towards their new home.

They were all miserable, hungry, and thirsty, but watching the whips and blasters in the slavers hands made them do nothing but patiently wait for their turn.

"Next." A Pyke called out, typing something in his holopad. A black human woman with a boy in her hand stepped forward. "State your names and place of birth."

"Zadia and Marcel Boodhoo." The dark skinned Earthling said, glaring at the Pyke. "Born in Lethem, Guyana."

Nodding, the alien slaver wrote their names down, before he pushed a button. A small slip of paper with printed text slowly came out of his holopad, which he gave to the new slaves. "Follow the person with this number." He ordered as they walked past them. "Next."

This time a blue male Twi'lek walked up front. "My name is Borruli, born in Roancu, Ryloth."

"Next!"

"Yusuf, Shoury. From Alexander, Egypt"

"Next!"

"Ravraa Zyr, from the Togrutan Colonies."

"Next!"

A Miralian woman stepped forward. "Hano Molina, from Mirial."

"Next!"

A graying, old human man in a black coat stepped forwards with his cane. "My name is Ismael Zagorski."

It went on and on for a while, with many different people of all races, species, and sexes being escorted, registered, and sent to work for the rest of their lives.

"Next." The register next to him had three wookies that were trying to explain their name to the bench worker, who was trying to write their names down with the help of a protocol droid.

"Tell them they'll be escorted with the rest of the wookies to the lower levels." The register told him as he worked further with an Earthling man in front of him. "State your name and place of birth."

The human man in front of him was large, his skin as dark and brown as the fertile soil found on Earth. He introduced himself with his deep, thick accent. "My name is Mugabo. I am from the Congo."

"Family name?"

"...Just Mugabo…" The man responded. This got the register to turn up and look at him suspiciously.

"What, no family name? Relatives?"

"Just...Mugabo…" The African man said to the Pyke. "I have no family, sir."

The register just shrugged, before he filled in the rest. Ripping out the paper, he threw it at the man. "Get in line with the others. You'll be shown your new home. Next!" The man nodded, before he walked past the registration booth. Meanwhile from afar, the old slaves watched the newcomers come in.

Hera looked down, scowling at Pykes and the Zygerrians. "I still don't get it - why would they willingly bring in children and the elderly? They don't tend to last very long in this kind of environment."

Zeb scoffed. "Maybe it's their way of getting their kicks. Bastards always were sick enough to see people suffer."

"I would be surprised if to think those Zygs even have hearts."

Sabine looked back at Naruto, and saw he still had a small cloth against his nose that was definitely broken. "You okay?"

The blood was drying up, which meant that the bleeding stopped. Still, it didn't mean that the pain did. "Yeah, just a bit broken, but it'll heal."

"You sure you don't want to get it checked out?" Zeb asked him.

"I just got back from the hospital, no need to go back just yet." Naruto said. That, and his nose was beginning to heal on its own, thanks to Kurama finally deciding to help, saying that he "earned his help at this point," whatever that meant. Either way, he couldn't just go back into the comfort of the infirmary when there's more people being shipped here like cargo.

The memory of that small family's massacre suddenly came back to him, making his eyes darken in hatred.

Almost as if she could feel his hatred, Sabine quickly embraced him, kissing him on the cheek. "Don't blame yourself, Naruto. There wasn't much you could've done about it."

Zeb looked down at the hole to where the mother and son fell to their doom. "At least they took a Zyg with them…"

"Sabine! Naruto!" Someone called out for them. The two turned their heads around to see it was Ibrahim.

"Ibrahim, what is it?"

"Supervisor wants you two to clean up the detention cells." He informed them. "Told me to pass it on to you guys. The mop and water's ready."

"Detention cells?" Sabine raised her eyebrow. "That's on the lower levels, shouldn't the guys down there do that?"

"Supervisor said it was another punishment for you guys fighting, I dunno." Ibrahim shrugged. "Good luck cleaning it, by the way. Heard it wasn't cleaned for weeks."

Sabine sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Great. Good to know that."

**…**

SPLUNG!

The sound of the wet mop dropping into the floor echoed the detention hallway as Naruto continued cleaning the floor with some water and soap. Sabine was doing one of the cells so Naruto was on his own doing the two mile long hallway that was covered in spats of dried up blood, urine, and other disgusting waste that splattered the floor and walls. Judging by the lack of toilets, it was obvious what had happened.

Sighing, Naruto silently thanked the fact that his nose was broken, since it warped his sense of smell to mostly blood, which actually worked in his favor at this point.

The same could not be said for Sabine, however.

"URGH!"

Naruto turned around to see Sabine quickly walking out of the cell, gagging as she fought the desire to throw up from the smell of pure human waste.

Coughing, she quickly staggered over to cleaner air as Naruto walked up to her. He patted her on the back to try to help her as he tried to fan away the toxic smell. "You doing alright, Sabine? You want me to take over?"

"No." She stood back up, and took a deep breath. "I can handle this. Just...need a minute to brace myself for the smell…"

If she had to be honest, if she ever got the chance, she would do everything in her power to blow this section of the mine first, if only to try to get some feeling of cleanliness again.

Not being able to hold it back anymore, Naruto found himself chuckling at her. "You know what? There _is_ a plus side to this."

"What the kriff could be the-oh." Sabine began to snap, slightly peeved at their situation until she realized what he meant. A smile quickly spread across her face as she felt her hips getting hugged by Naruto's arms. "Good point."

She slowly turned around so that she could wrap her arms around his neck. Closing their eyes, they stayed like that for a moment, slow dancing in the dark, dirty hallway.

"You know, I gotta give it to you. Even when we're in a fucked up place like this, you still somehow make me feel much better." Sabine murmured, kissing the tip of his nose.

"Just doing my best." He smiled, his heart fluttering as his forehead touched hers. He didn't know why, but after that one night in the infirmary, he felt a connection to Sabine that he couldn't quite explain. Was it because of the Force? Was it just because they gave their virginities to each other? Or was it because they finally settled their differences, and got to see each other as the warriors they were? He couldn't figure it out, but he didn't want to think about it. "You know, I still can't believe that we went from nearly killing each other to doing it in the infirmary."

"Don't remind me of that." Sabine pouted. She was still embarrassed by that moment, since she didn't expect Idel to suddenly walk into the room like that. She also wasn't expecting him to keep fucking her, which nearly got them caught red handed. The worst part, however, was that it turned out Idel knew they were having sex, and that became the new gossip amonst their little female clique. "I swear, you're a closet perv."

"Heh, guilty." He chuckled, thinking about Pervy Sage. His hands began to travel down her back, prompting her to do the same with a smirk.

"Come here." She pressed her lips against his, and they locked their lips into a kiss again.

They both lost themselves into their little world, away from the hell they were stuck in, freeing themselves into the moment. Until-

"Did you hear that?" Naruto suddenly pulled away from her, much to her disappointment.

"Hear what?" Sabine asked. While still dazed from their makeout session, she quickly snapped herself out of it, already prepared to fight or run if needed.

Naruto looked around and frowned. "Maybe it came from one of the cells."

*SNIFF*, *SNIFF*

"That sounded like sniffling." Sabine noted, her muscles relaxing. "But I thought these cells were empty." The sounds grew more apparent the closer they got to the source of the noise, especially for Sabine.

"It's from a girl…"

Naruto's feet suddenly moved faster on his own as he walked down the hallway, listening to the silent sound and figuring out where it was coming from. He then stopped by one of the doors and saw it was the only one closed. He started opening the door as the lights of the hallway descended into the room and he recoiled in horror.

Laid on the concrete floor was the redheaded girl he recognized from earlier. Tayuya...if he remembered correctly, looked...terrible, to say the least. Her arms and legs were so badly bruised, he suspected that it would hurt just to move them. Strands of her hair were scattered across the floor as if they were ripped out of her head. The small piece of fabric that was left of her clothes barely covered her lower body, which didn't stop the pool of red and white fluids that was oozing out of her.

Naruto, still standing there like Medusa's victim, barely reacted as Sabine entered the room seconds later. She too froze at the size, gasping in horror.

That gasp finally got the redhead to snap out of it. Her eyes widened as she scrambled away from them, and the duo could see the sheer terror in her blood shot eyes. Naruto was stunned to see his former adversary like this, and it honestly broke his heart to see her like the others.

Sabine took one step forward, and regretted it immediately.

"Stay away...STAY AWAY!" Tayuya screamed as she moved her body against the wall, covering her head with her bloody hands as she went from staring at them to looking away from them.

Sabine flinched by the sheer pain and terror this poor young woman was showing, her small, beaten trembling form looking quite pitiful in comparison to the strong, firey spirited she once showed.

Her eyes widened as Naruto took a step forward. "Naruto, wait."

At the mention of his name, for a moment it looked like the old redhead he knew was coming back. Then Tayuya went back into a hysterical mess as she continued to panic, her breathing out of control and coughing blood in between.

"Stay away...Stay away...Stay away!" Her eyes widened to impossible lengths as she saw the young blond taking off his shirt. Thinking that he wanted payback for her part of the Uchiha-brat's capture, she trembled as she closed her eyes, preparing to feel dirty again.

Instead, she felt something soft being gently laid on top of her bruised shoulders. Hesitating, she slowly looked up to see Naruto's weary eyes. His top was gone, and she realized that he had given her his shirt.

"Keep it." Naruto said without emotion. He stood back up, then walked away. Sabine looked at Tayuya, then at Naruto, before she left as well.

Sabine was almost out of the room when she froze. Turning her head back towards the broken woman, she slowly turned around, gingerly walking back to the girl on the floor.

Meanwhile, Tayuya was in a state of shock. She thought that the blond would've tried raping her too, or at least would've tried to kill her in revenge. Instead, he gave her his shirt, gently wrapping it around her naked body to try to comfort her.

Tayuya barely noticed Sabine until she was sitting right next to her, her hand gently touching hers.

"It's okay…" Sabine spoke to Tayuya in a soothing tone, doing her best to not trigger her again. "I'm here for you, okay?"

The girl still trembled, but she slowly began to move towards Sabine's shoulder, hesitating as if testing the water. After what seemed like an eternity, Tayuya's head finally made its way to her shoulder as she continued to stare blankly at the floor.

It was then that she heard Naruto walk back into the cell with a bucket and a towel. Slowly approaching them, he knelt down to their level, slowly showing them the new, clean rag.

"We need to clean those wounds before we can tend them." He dipped the small towel into the bucket of water, before slowly wringing it out. "...If you're ready, just stand still while I clean it up."

Naruto's hand froze, trembling as he became unsure of whether or not he could proceed. Working up his nerve, he slowly pressed the towel against her bruised skin. Letting out a breath of relief, he slowly began to clean her up as he tried to ignore the whimpers of pain coming from the girl every time he passed over a bruise.

"Okay, you're doing great…" Sabine kept on talking to the girl, her hand never leaving hers. "We'll get you some help soon, and something for you to wear."

"Why not kill me?"

"Huh?"

"You know I'm talking to you….bastard." Tayuya slowly looked up at the blond with an empty glare. "We're...enemies...from different villages….My comrades, almost killed all of yours…"

Sabine looked between the two, and quickly figured out she must be from his planet.

Naruto said nothing as he motioned Sabine to turn Tayuya over. She did so with some difficulty, considering how Tayuya was glaring at Naruto suspiciously. His face remained grim as he refreshed the towel with some new, warm water.

"...We're not shinobi anymore." Naruto finally said, pausing as he put his rag down. "Right now, we're just survivors."

His tone stunned the Sound-nin, as she hadn't expected his voice to sound so defeated. In the short time that they had briefly interacted, he came off as his hyperactive idiot that would've been the first one to die had it not been for his annoying teammates.

The blond saying nothing else, Naruto kept on helping Sabine on comforting and cleaning her up. He paused when he noticed how some of her wounds were looking quite eerie, needing more serious help…

_'Kurama, mind helping out with her wounds?' _

**_'Kit, I'm literally born from the Dark Side. I couldn't heal that Mandalorian brat back then; that was all you. And this time, it'll still be all you.'_** Kurama responded. **_'...I do hope you still know how to use Force Healing.'_**

Ignoring that last jab, he turned back to Sabine. "Can you hold her still for a moment?"

A look of realization went through her mind as she nodded. She continued to whisper soothing words into her ear as she continued to hold her hand. Naruto then placed his hand over Tayuya's head, and closed his eyes.

_In...out. In...out. _

_Peace. Tranquility. Comfort. Order. Calm. Relief. Healing._

**_Darkness. Pain. Suffering. _**

Naruto's concentration was suddenly thrown off as a bombardment of negative emotions began to overwhelm him.

**_A young boy crying out for his mother and father. Tayuya, screaming as they forced themselves onto her, jeering at her as they tore chunks of her hair out, slapping and kicking her. _**

**_A slave fell over dead asthefuckingPykesshothim, ,discardedlikethetrashweallare. _**

**_Stay away. STAY AWAY. STAY AWAY YOU DEMON BRAT!-_**

**_"KIT!"_**

Naruto blinked, and he realized that his hand was empty. Tayuya was whimpering in the other side of the room, barely rasping out words as she held her hands up to her head.

"What the kriff happened, Naruto?" Sabine asked him. Naruto just stared at his hand, and for a second, he thought it looked gray and shrivelled.

"I...I don't know." Naruto said helplessly, tears pooling from his eyes.

**_'Naruto, you were consumed by the Dark Side.'_** Kurama explained slowly. **_'It feeds off of death and suffering, and considering that you're in a cesspool of both, I'm surprised that it actually took this long for the Dark Side to finally get to you.'_**

_'Shit…'_ Naruto groaned as he sat onto the filthy floor. _'Does that mean I can't Force Heal anymore?'_

**_'No, brat.'_** Kurama sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. **_'That just means that you need to confront your issues head on. Whatever suffering you're feeling, figure out which one's yours, separate yours from the others, and confront your issues head on. That, or go nuts from all the suffering you're going through. Your choice.'_**

_Prick…_ Naruto thought, even though he knew he was right. Closing his eyes, he began to slowly breathe in and out, trying to settle the storm that had erupted in his mind.

_In...out...in-_

**_A young boy crying out for his mother and father._**

_...It's okay. It's okay. It's not happening to me. _

**_Tayuya, screaming as they forced themselves onto her, jeering at her as they tore chunks of her hair out, slapping and kicking her. _**

_It's okay. Stay...stay in the moment. _

**_Why don't you do anything about them? How many could you save if you went rogue? _**

_...I'm here, I'm here, I'm here. _

**_All of their deaths are on you. All because you, for once, decided to stick with the plan. How do you feel about that? _**

_...Terrible. I feel terrible._

**_… _**

_You're right. I could've saved them. I could've stopped that poor kid from losing his parents. From becoming like me. But, I know why they had to die. They had to die so that the plan could work. I'm not ready to lead to the rebellion yet. I'm not strong enough. But...I promise I'll avenge them. I'll make sure that their deaths, their suffering, their sacrifice, would mean something in this cruel world. _

**_…_**

_...It's okay. It's okay. I'm okay. I'm fine. I'm here. I'm here...to heal Tayuya. I'm here so that I can help her. _

**_…_**_ … _

_...I don't know what you are. I don't know if you're something that's alive. If you want to punish me, do it. But please, let me help her first._

**_._**_ . ._

_...I'm here. I'm here._

Naruto opened his eyes, and found himself standing over Tayuya. He discovered that she had stopped whimpering, and, much to his relief, her wounds were fading. Every broken bone began to mend itself. Every bruise shrank until it faded from sight. Her breathing became easy, her ragged breaths turning into small sighs of relief.

Taking his hand away from her head, he let out a small smile, before he fell on his rear.

* * *

**(Later that night)**

Naruto stared at the stone walls, barely illuminated by the torches outside of his cell. Despite the loud snoring his bunk mates were making, Naruto found himself deep in his thoughts, recalling his experience with both the light side and the dark side of the Force.

Thinking about the two sides made his head hurt, so he decided to turn his thoughts onto Tayuya.

Hopefully, she was getting the rest and treatment she needed by Idel and Bellatrix, who agreed to keep her existence a secret for now. Both he and Sabine mutually agreed to not talk about her, hoping that the Zygs would assume her to be dead, joining the ever growing pile down below, waiting to be burned away.

"..."

Naruto took a deep breath, before he raised his hand at the ground. Concentrating on the rocks on the ground, he pictured them in his mind, clear as day, and he began to picture his intent, focusing his calm determination and will.

The small rocks trembled, before they slowly began to rise. The gravel began to float in the air, and Naruto had to keep himself from whooping in joy and childish wonder.

Taking another deep breath, he willed them to come to him, and it did just that. It fell back towards the ground a few times, almost hitting the ground more times than he would care to admit, but before he knew it, the gravel was floating just a foot away from him, hovering like miniature moons in front of him.

His face full of wonder slowly melted away as they formed into one full of determination. Turning into a scowl, he began to focus on his pain - on the pain of everyone who was condemned to this hell. Rage, pain, suffering coursed through his mind, body, and soul, as he clenched his hand into a fist.

_Crunch._

The gravel imploded on itself, crushed by an invisible force, reducing it into mere sand and dust. Naruto stared at the remains of the gravel for a moment, before he relaxed his fist. The dust fell onto the floor, making a soft noise as it returned to where it came from. Laying his head back onto his hard bed, he let out a small, weary sigh, the feelings of the dark side fading away.

It was exhausting to use the dark side. Sure, it was one hell of a rush, and it felt good to use it, but once he was done, all he felt was...emptiness. Bitter, drained emptiness.

Still, the power he felt while using it to crush that puny rock-

Naruto shook his head. It didn't take a genius to figure out that getting addicted to using the dark side was bad, and that he should keep it under control, else it would control _him_.

Still, though, the powers the dark side offers is pretty tempting. He heard stories from Sabine about just some of the things both the Jedi and the Sith were capable of, and how the Mandalorians had to learn how to adapt in order to be able to take them down.

Impressed at the stories, he found himself disappointed at the modern Jedi, since Sabine said that they were basically the watered down version of their former selves, with only a handful of the Jedi being worthy enough to be compared to the Jedi of the Old Republic.

After hearing about how weak they are, a part of him was considering choosing the dark side primarily instead of the light, choosing the path of the Sith to be able to rain death on his enemies, and to everyone that wronged them.

His thoughts were interrupted when he realized that Tarik was shifting endlessly nearby. Even without his connection to the Force, he could feel the man's distress as he groaned and whimpered in his sleep.

Sitting up from his bed, Naruto looked around at his cellmates. He gave up on the idea of sleeping in this hellhole; it was too hot, too humid, and too noisy. He tried taking off his shirt, which only helped to dampen his bed even quicker. Plus, the events of today still haunted him, particularly with his encounter of the dark side.

Meanwhile, the others somehow seem to be sleeping well. Maybe it was due to most of them coming from a naturally warm climate, with two of them from the Middle East and another being from Mexico. Except for the only Russian, who didn't seem to care about it anyways.

Russians were sure a strange kind of people, that's what he could say for sure.

_*Groan*_

His thoughts were snapped back to the present as he heard Tarik groan again. Naruto wondered if he was the only one aware of his nightmares, This has been happening for weeks, and nobody seemed to bring it up.

Naruto looked at the man's writhing form, before looking at his hands. Saying nothing, he slowly got up, walking towards the man. Kneeling down, he slowly placed his hand over his sweating forehead.

_'Its okay...Tarik….Just breathe…' _He spoke through his mind, hoping to help his friend through the Force. _'It's okay...just let me help.'_

**_WAAAHHHH!_**

**_A young boy was seen wailing over the dead body of a woman, who laid in a pool of her own blood after being shot in the back of the head by another woman, who waited for her outside the local Walmart while everyone surrounded them, paralyzed by horror at this woman's murder. Two bystanders took the gun from the woman, and pinned her down as she screeched like a banshee._**

**_"TERRORISTS! INFILTRATORS! MURDERERS!" The woman screeched as two police officers finally made it to the scene. "THAT WAS FOR NEW YORK! NEVER FORGET, NEVER FORGET!"_**

**_"Ma'am you're under arrest, don't resist."_**

**_"DON'T ARREST ME! ARREST THESE TERRORISTS! THEY DESERVE IT, THEY DESERVE IT!" She was pulled up and brought to the police car as the Sheriff approached the young Tarik, who was still weeping over his dead mother._**

**_The Sheriff knelt down to the young boy, and tried to calm him down. "Look at me, kid. Just don't look."_**

**_The only thing the young boy could do was stare at his mother, whose head was leaking blood and brain matter from her headscarf while the paramedics tried to check on her._**

Naruto opened his eyes after seeing that awful memory, gasping as he stumbled backwards.

Tears falling like raindrops, he turned back to Tarik and saw the Urzik man sweating even harder as his whimpers grew even worse.

**_'Kit what the hell are you doing?'_**

_"Stay out of this, Kurama.'_ Naruto spoke back in his mind. _'I'm trying to help Tarik out, he's hurting.'_

**_'He's having a nightmare about his dead mother, nothing else.' _**The Fox snorted **_'Besides, why do you care? It's his problem he's got to deal with. Stay out of it and don't try to be a hero like you did for that Sound bitch.'_**

_'First of all, you're the one who told me to learn how to use the Force, with minimal help from you, you overgrown furball.'_

**_'Watch it, boy.'_**

_'Second, her name is Tayuya, not Sound bitch. I already told you, we're not shinobi anymore. Only survivors, and we gotta stick together. And lastly, I'm not going to abandon my friends if I can help them. So either back off or help me out, because I'm not gonna quit.' _Naruto snapped back at the Kyuubi fearlessly.

**_'Urgh, you little fucking brat. You always gotta do shit like this, huh? Fuck, it's too early for this shit,'_** The Fox grumbled. **_'Fine, focus on the guy's mind again, I'll help you out.'_**

_'Oh, and I thought you couldn't help out.'_

**_"I can't, you little shit. However, like Force Healing, I can help you out with this problem. However, you're not gonna like it." _**

_'First of all, fuck you. You know, maybe i'm growing to dislike you more for being an asshole then being a Tailed Demon.'_

**_'Then we're making progress, kit.'_**

_'Second, why am I not going to like it?' _

**_"...Cause you'll be using the Dark Side to do it."_**

…

_Ooo-kay, here we go._ Naruto sighed, trying to calm himself down. The minute the Kyuubi was done explaining the (theoretical) technique to him, he was feeling more nervous than ever.

**_"Kit, just because we're using the Dark Side to heal him it doesn't mean that you have to be a nervous wreck to do it."_**

_'I know, shut the hell up.'_ Naruto snapped back, before he began to meditate, trying to calm his mind down.

_'In...out…In...out...in...out…in...out'_

_...It's okay, Tarik. I'm here - just let me in._

And suddenly, he was back in the grocery store, standing next to a young, weeping Tarik.

**_"TERRORISTS! INFILTRATORS! MURDERERS!" The woman screeched as two police officers finally made it to the scene. "THAT WAS FOR NEW YORK! NEVER FORGET, NEVER FORGET!"_**

_'...Forgive me, Tarik. But please hold on a bit longer.'_

And with that, Naruto raised his arms, his outstretched hand slowly clenching into a fist as the bright, sunny day suddenly turned into night, the full moon glowing crimson.

**_"TERRORISTS! TERRORISTS! TERRORISTS! TERRORISTS!"_**

An army of the murderer suddenly appeared around Tarik, screaming and shouting the same words that she spat before she was shoved into the car. Only this time, there was no car. There was no police, no more bystanders to try to help. Just a lonely, helpless Tarik being crushed by the overwhelming hate and despair he felt that day.

**_"NEW YORK! NEW YORK! NEW YORK! NEVER FORGET, NEVER FORGET!"_**

Naruto took a deep breath, before he aimed his hands at the screeching woman. Her mouth opened to spit another round of verbal torment at the poor boy, but nothing came out. The women began to gag as something began to choke them.

Terrified, the women clawed at their throats as they began floating in the air. And suddenly, there was just one woman - one, cowardly woman who robbed an innocent boy of his mother.

She could say no words, but her eyes were pleading for mercy - for the sweet, breath of air that everyone took for granted, until it was their turn to die.

"You're pathetic, you stupid, bitch." Naruto growled, his eyes glowing yellow as his fists clenched even tighter. "How dare you rob a boy of his mother. You're a mother too - how could you do such a thing?"

When he would look back to this moment, he realized that he wasn't sure just how he knew this murderer was a mother. Maybe the Force told him, who knows?

Whether or not the woman heard him, it didn't matter. Naruto's wrist jerked, and the lady's neck twisted with a loud CRUNCH!

Just like that, after so many years of tormenting him, Tarik's worst nightmare was finally defeated.

Throwing away the body with a lazy flick of the wrist, he looked down and saw that the boy was looking around, confused at the sudden change of scenery. He then looked at the tall, blond boy standing a few feet away from him, the cool, now-pale moonlight illuminating his form.

Despite the dark aura the boy - no, man?, possessed, despite his demonic, yellow eyes, he felt strangely comforted at the man.

"It's okay, Tarik. It's okay, now." Naruto smiled reassuringly. His glowing eyes dimmed back to its regular blue. "The bad lady's gone, now. She won't bother you ever again?"

"B-but, she always comes back!" Tarik stammered, his eyes on the verge of tears again. "W-will you be there again?"

"No," Naruto confessed, "but it'll be okay, kid. You're stronger than you think. No one can undo what happened, no matter how hard we try. Trust me, kid, don't blame yourself for what happened. She made her choice, and life keeps moving forward. It's time for you to move on."

"But...Mom…"

"I know, Tarik. It sucks not having a mom anymore, I get it. But being stuck in the past won't change the fact that it still happened. All you can do is get up, get stronger, and move on. All I did for you was make this easier - it's up to you to get up and get stronger. The next time she appears, you stand up, and you tell her that she has no right to be in your head. Next time she shows her ugly face again, put your foot through it and tell her to piss off!"

Tarik giggled at that, his form finally relaxing.

"...Okay." It was a simple word, but Naruto knew that he had done his job - at least for now.

"...Go in peace, Tarik." He said, closing his eyes as he swiped his hands. The scenery around them began to change, the night turning to day and the setting warping to a better time.

_ **A young Tarik was seen standing in front of the gates of the local elementary school, where he was visibly nervous toddler wearing the same soccer t-shirt of his favourite team with a backpack on his back.**_

**_"Something wrong, Tarik?" _**

**_The boy turned to his mother, an Arab woman who had long brown hair that was put in a braid. She had the beautiful smile that could speak for itself as a kind and helpful person. Emigrating to the US in 95' just when he was born, her name was Fatima Karim, a Urzik national who fled like many of her fellow countrymen from the war in Urzikstan, and finally managed to get refugee status to the United States._**

**_"I'm scared, mama," the young Tarik said, clutching to his mother's pants that she wore for her work as a teacher. "What if they don't like me?"_**

**_His mother went down to her little son, and held his shoulders as she gave him her assuring smile, like she was going to lecture him again, something she was prone to do._**

**_"Listen, I know things haven't been easy for us ever since 'what happened' in New York." It was almost a year since the Twin Towers came down, ever since then, anyone from a Muslim background or anything related to being Arabic began to feel like a curse for those people. "but don't let that think you're less than anyone else, and do not be afraid to befriend other people."_**

**_"But you know what happened at uncle Hamza's shop that was burned down? Or the neighbor next door Raja who got her headscarf ripped off by that meanie, or how we found a pig's head on the front of the mosque?" He brought up incidents that he witnessed himself happen to other people. "Did we do something bad?"_**

**_Little Tarik then asked, "Is it wrong being a Muslim?" _**

**_The mother's face turned grim as her son reminded her of those incidents, incidents that she never wanted to let her son see. Putting back her reassuring smile, she answered her son's question by pulling something out of her pocket._**

**_It was a small pin with the American flag on it. "Did you remember the story I told you? About how a nice lady at the airport gave me this pin as a welcome gesture?"_**

**_Young Tarik nodded. _**

**_"That's the point, Tarik. Here." She pinned the little flag on the boy's shirt, straightening it out. "I want you to wear it."_**

**_"Why?" Tarik asked, looking down on his shirt. "It's just a pin."_**

**_She points her finger at the pinent and said, "That, my little angel, is part of your identity. You're an American. An American with Urzik roots."_**

**_"What's so special about being an American, mama?" Tarik asked, confused. "We don't do the same things like the other neighbors. Or even go to the same Mosque."_**

**_The mother chuckled at her little son's confusion. "No, no, my boy. An American is not being from a certain religion, or having a skin color, or coming from one background. We live in a country that is made up of people like us; people coming from different parts of the world and living next to other people. Like Mr. Singh, who came from India, or the shop owner Mr. Cho, who is from South Korea, or like that nice old mister Schmetzel who comes from Israel."_**

**_"But why do we still get angry looks from people?" Tarik still didn't understand his mother. "It feels like we aren't welcome here…"_**

**_"That's because they're afraid, my child." She told him. "Don't worry, one day they'll see you for who you are." she closed the button of her boy's jacket that he wore over his soccer shirt. "One day, you will prove yourself that while you are an Urzik man, you are as just American as they are. Because you ARE an American. Got it?"_**

**_The young Tarik scrunched up his eyebrows as he looked at the pin. "I think so."_**

**_RIIIIIIING!_**

**_The school bell went off, and one of the teachers came out, saying, "Everybody come inside!" _**

**_Fatima turned to her son and kissed him on the forehead. "Go and make a lot of friends, my little lion."_**

**_"Okay, mama." he kissed her on the cheek and ran for his class. "Love you mama!"_**

**_"Love you too!"_**

**_… _**

Naruto's eyes opened as Tarik's memory finally ended. Slumping down onto the dirty ground, he took a minute to take in some deep breaths to settle his mind and heart. After finishing his break, he looked back up.

Tarik was sleeping soundly, with no more nightmares haunting the poor man. He was no longer shaking, and his breathing was calm and even. A tear ran down his eye, but this time, it was from a sweet memory.

A weary smile made its way onto the blond shinobi's face as he crawled back to his bed.

"Sleep well, Tarik...You deserve it." Naruto began to close his eyes as he tried to get some rest.

**_'You keep mingling into others' affairs, brat…' _**Kurama spoke through the boy's head. **_'One day that's gonna be a huge mistake.'_**

_'Oh, quit your complaining. I bet you'd like that anyways, seeing as how you're gonna finally get out of my body that way.'.'_

**_'Yeah, but I'd still rather you didn't eat it just yet. You-...you're becoming less of a nuisance right now.'_** Kurama grumbled, his loud but gentle tone vibrating in his head. **_'So do us a favor and try not to die yet.'_**

A chuckle escaped through Naruto's mouth as he nodded. _'Sure, I'll try. Good night.'_

**_'...Good night, kid.'_**

The two ended their conversation with a mutual and unusual non-hostile tone that almost sounded friendly-like. And with that, he closed his eyes.

* * *

The next day was a day like any other. The sun was blazing on their backs, the tunnels were hard to breath in, another slave died on his feet, and Naruto was forced to dig for some more spice.

_Come on, what the hell's with the guards these days?_ Naruto glared as he smashed the pickaxe into the cave walls. He glanced at the other slaves around him, his eyes falling onto one of the men with a large towel around his head. His nose was bandaged up behind his cloth mask, due to a fight that had occured a while back, making him sound funny every time he talked.

_Ibrahim, any second now…_ He muttered internally. He was sweating from the anticipation, which was not helping with his anxiety.

BOOM!

An explosion caught everyone's attention, including the Sentinel Pyke that was watching over them. Apparently a drilling machine had overheated, exploding loudly as large chunks of broken bits flew everywhere.

"The Hell?" The Sentinel muttered as he ran towards the source of the explosion. That was the distraction Naruto needed as he walked up to the toweled slave. The slave smiled from underneath his mask, before ripping it off alongside his towel.

"Go, we'll cover you."

Naruto nodded in thanks as he put on the towel and the mask, before giving him his clothing. The switch, which had been done and practiced so many times, had been quick, and Naruto was already running down the tunnels towards his destination.

…

Walking down the dark tunnels, Naruto couldn't help but admire the Earthlings' ingenuity as he stared at the crudely made candles and lights. They took what little they were given/found, and created an entire system of lighting that only they knew how to use.

For all their high tech that the Zyggerians and the Pykes used to enslave them, they sure had no clue on how to work with basic technology such as this.

Naruto came to a sudden stop near some rubble. Taking the time to knock on a couple of them, he found the rock he was looking for and gently pushed it out of the way. For one to look at it, it would seem like he was trying to cause another cave-in, but this rock rolled away with minimal effort, revealing a hidden tunnel. It led to a very old mine shaft that he and Tarik discovered with Adrik, which served as just one of many of their secret headquarters for the rebellion.

Crawling into the secret lair, he couldn't help but look back on where it all started.

* * *

**_Few months ago_**

_"Next!" One of the cooks threw a pile of white goop onto Naruto's tray. He looked at the goop with some unease, unsure of what the hell this was supposed to be._

_"Got a problem, kid?"_

_Naruto looked up at the cook, the light in his eyes extinguished like the lives of his previous cell mates, who had died from exhaustion and from blaster fire after they were unable to move any further, collapsing from a heatstroke. _

_Furthermore, some of his other former cellmates got into a fight over a piece of bread after a Zygerrian threw one in there for fun. The slaves scrambled for it, fighting and biting at each other for the chance to fill in their empty stomachs. After watching in amusement for a few minutes, they finally stepped in to "keep the peace," which ended with most of them getting electrocuted to death to set an example. _

_"No, it's fine." Naruto sighed before he left, the other slaves behind him becoming impatient at him just standing around. Sitting down, he was about to take a bite of the nasty sludge when someone pulled on his sleeve. _

_Turning around, he blushed a little when he looked at a green Twi'lek, a race he learned that was filled with beautiful humanoids with tentacle-like appendages that was apparently very commonly picked to become slaves._

_"Follow me," the Twi-lek simply said as she turned around, walking to another table. Raising his eyebrows, he decided to go along with it to avoid any immediate hostilities. Going through the many rows of slaves eating their meals in peace, he noticed that some were eying him with caution or envy. _

_The green beauty eventually sat down on an empty seat, which was evidently hers from the beginning, judging by the lack of suspicious looks from the other slaves. _

_"Sit," she said without looking at him, immediately getting back to her meal. "Eat while we're talking - it'll attract less attention from the guards should they happen to walk in here. _

_Taking her advice, he quickly sat down next to her as he dug right in. His face twitched at how disgustingly plain it tasted, despite having tasted this particular slop a few times already. _

_It was a full minute before the woman finally spoke to him. _

_"So you're the new kid from Elementia, right?" the Twi'lek asked, a welcoming smile on her face. "The name's Hera Syndulla, but you can just call me Hera." _

_"U-Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto quickly corrected himself. During his time here so far, he picked up on the fact that not many people here introduced their last names first, which was a cultural habit he had to break in order to avoid unnecessary confusion. "And yeah, you're right. How'd you know?" _

_"Word travels fast here, kid," this time it was a dark-skinned human man that spoke, grabbing Naruto's attention. "After three people get beaten to death for a loaf of bread and the only survivor of the cell being you, you tend to stand out like a sore thumb."_

_Naruto turned to the darked skinned man. "Who are you?"_

_"Name's Tarik Karim, kid." He introduced himself as he turned to the others. "The ruskie next to me is Adrik Yahontov. We wanted to talk to you about your apparent background." _

_Naruto observed the two men and noticed the "Ruskie" wasn't even paying attention, and was busy eating his food while the guy named Tarik was still waiting for an answer from him._

_"My background?" Naruto asked with suspicion. "What about it?"_

_"You're from Elementia, right?" Hera asked bluntly._

_"...Yes."_

_"Then you must be one of those so called 'Shinobi' warriors." Adrik guessed as he turned his head to the blond kid. "The ones who can walk up to walls and disguise themselves like chameleons."_

_"I don't know what you're talking about-"_

_"Listen, kid. There's no need for any hostility in here," Hera spoke, coming in between. "We know you're from that planet, and we need to know what your intentions are."_

_"My intentions?"_

_"Stop with this bullshit act boy, and answer the damn question." Adrik grunted._

_Naruto was not having it and wanted to leave, but then he noticed that he was being stared at from multiple directions and that alarmed him that he was caught in the middle, so he kept his calm and sat down._

_Hera decided to calm the tension down and reached for Naruto's shoulder, and said, "We don't want to hurt you, but there's a lot at stake. So hear us out."_

_"...Okay." Naruto reluctantly lowered his guard, and asked Tarik, "Then why all the fuss if I gotta ask."_

_"Because you weren't the last person of Elementia to be brought here," Adrik responded to him with the story. "Some idiot started running up the wall and tried to escape, but before he could reach the top, his collar electrocuted him and the Zygs kept shooting at his body for the following day as target practice."_

_"That kinda sucks."_

_"Not only that," Tarik spoke without raising his voice, "they also randomly picked fifty slaves and killed them, leaving their hanging bodies on the entrances of the cells as a reminder…" That memory still haunted him like it happened yesterday. One of the main reasons was because one of those victims was a person he knew was among the first to be hanged...alive._

_Hera took it over from there. "That's why we need to know if you're planning on escaping. We cannot afford for any more people to die…"_

_Carefully, Naruto responded, "Well, I got news for you."_

_He reached for his shirt and pulled it up to show some red patterned tattoo on his chest._

_"I don't know how, but they sealed off my chakra - the source of our powers," Naruto explained to them grimly. "Meaning they've already got someone from my planet to work here for cases like me. So for the meanwhile, my abilities are useless." He put his shirt down in contemplative silence; he didn't know who it was that put the seal on him, but there were two facts that comforted him: he could still somehow talk to AND interact with the damned Fox, and secondly, he still felt his chakra flow. Maybe it was due to his connection to the Fox, but either way, he had no way of accessing his chakra - for now. "So what is it that you called me in here for, besides for accusing me of something I can't even do."_

_Tarik took a moment to first look at Adrik, who nodded to him, before then he turned towards Hera. "Go on."_

_She turned back to the kid. "We're planning on something big, and we need good people with experience in anything that can be helpful here." _

_It took a moment for Naruto to realize by what she meant. Putting his spoon down, he turned towards the Twi'lek and looked her right in the eyes._

_"You're talking about a breakout, aren't you?"_

_"Yes, yes we are." Tarik nodded. "We heard that you shinobi are hardened warriors, you think you can be useful to us?"_

_Naruto nodded. "What do you need?"_

_"You know how to make bombs?" Adrik asked. "Like flammables or smoke or anything like that?"_

_Luckily for the struggling rebellion, this prankster actually close attention to when the academy taught them on how to make traps and explosives, especially ones that didn't require chakra._

_"When can I get started?_

* * *

Naruto put down a few empty bottles onto the ground as he laid down various materials, like the alcohol that came from the kitchen detail, who managed to smuggle it into the underground, and some pieces of cloth that would later be dipped into the incendiary substance.

"Okay, these are the last ones." Naruto grabbed an empty bottle and a small can of alcohol, and began pouring the substance into the bottle, before he then went on to put the small piece of cloth on the side of the bottle with some tape so it could be stored for later with the other small devices that were already prepared.

Hearing footsteps approaching him, he looked up to see that it was Sabine, who came in with a box of materials.

" I see you're busy."

"I've just finished the last bottle," Naruto put all the molotovs into a box, before passing it to another slave. "That's my part for today. What about you?"

"Adrik told me to build more of those roller bombs." she put the box down and tried to find the right word. "I think those Earthlings called them 'Pipe bombs?'"

Naruto cleaned his hands. "That's it alright, those Earthlings sure know how to create lots of scary weapons." Naruto heard that Ibrahim was busy helping build what he remembered was called 'Napalm explosives' that are being kept in various levels on Ölüm.

She placed the box on the ground. "Mind helping me out here? Could use the help."

"No problem." Naruto knelt down to help her place the parts on the ground for her to set apart. "Come on, I wanna get this done before supper begins."

"You tell me," she said, recoiling at the bad stench of alcohol. "I really don't like that smell, but it sure beats the kitchen food, honestly."

"Funny, Bomber even said he even drinks this stuff," Naruto said with a snicker. "He said it was a thing his grandfather made him do back in his country as part of a tradition."

"Really." Sabine chuckled, pulling some parts together. "I'll need to visit that place once we're out of here."

The two continued their work for the remainder of the time as they, like anybody else in the secret mine, were busy with the preparations for the big event that was to come very soon. But if you could feel the emotions in the air, it was not those of happiness, but rather bitterness, fear, and some even a deep desire for revenge.

Revenge, for the daily humiliations, exhaustion, and death for those who survive every day to see the next day. Hoping one day they can repay back the favor, with blood...

* * *

**[?]**

As the night had fallen yet again over Kessel, two men in hazmat suits were seen walking out of a newly built white facility. They walked over to the entrance of the newly built tunnel that connected the Ölüm mine with the new lab.

"The latest experiment has been a success." The first man said as they both walked through the decontamination chamber. "If we continue with these new subjects, Doctor Vindi will be very happy with our continuing progress. This project must succeed."

"The revival and weaponization of a deadly plague. The Blue Shadow Virus, absolutely magnificent." his colleague spoke in a sense of pride. "Have the men in Area 3 madeany progress with their project?"

"You mean about the T-Virus?" The 1st man said. "Possibly; I heard that they brought their batch to Area 6, but they'll need new test subjects...just like us, to be honest." the two scientistswalked up to the Sentinels standing guard at the tunnel entrance.

The two Sentinel Pykes saw the two scientists walk up to them, and one of them asked, "What is it that you need, gentlemen?"

"We'll need a group of test subjects. The last ones have just been used, and we need some new ones for continuing experimentation."

One of the sentinels looked at the two men with suspicion. "On whose orders?" In response, one of the scientists pulled out a holopad.

"From the Umbrella Corporation, who is paying your funds at this moment, Mr. Pykes." the scientist stated. "A request to transfer about fifty new slaves to be brought in here."

The Pykes guard accepted the written order, but still had one more question. "Okay, but what is this facility called? I'm new here."

"Sector 12 - The Red Paw."

* * *

**(Next Morning)**

Naruto laid on his bunk bed, staring at the red ceiling as he tried to get some sleep. Sleeping below him was Joseph, who was now sleeping with a cross in his hand. Naruto noted how much more religious the man was becoming, even giving small sermons to those who asked in between labor and in lunch breaks.

Laying on the other bunk beds were Tarik on the bottom and Adrik taking top. Naruto smiled when he saw Tarik cough a few times, but aside from that, was sleeping just fine. Adrik, on the other hand, was not sleeping, but was instead writing something in a small notebook, which he later learned was a log about the amount of weaponry that was being made and stockpiled.

He quickly finished up, and put the small notebook in an open spot in the wall, before he slid a brick into it. It was just one of many many hiding spots he and Jimmy made.

Speaking of Jimmy, the Mexican digger was seen rolling up somel cigarette papers. Officially, they were to smoke spices and tobacco, which the slavers didn't really mind too much so long as it didn't interfere with their work (and even encouraged it to try to create dependence), but in actuality, in those small papers were written messages that would later be given to other slaves from different cell blocks. He had already written about fifty 'kites' with each having different messages and instructions for every level of this God-forsaken place.

Ibrahim, meanwhile, was seen actually smoking one of his cigarettes, which was made from smuggled tobacco "How did you learn to write so small?"

"Done," Jimmy finished his last roll, and put them inside his pocket. "I did some time in a US Jail in Arizona; got to learn how to make them before getting deported back South."

"Ah, what did you get caught for?"

"I was caught with no visa, that's all." Jimmy answered, sealing the kites up. "Gringos thought I was a gang member or something, deported me back across the border. Not a nice experience for me….Also, I was drinking and crashed my truck right into a deputy's car."

"Ah," Ibrahim chuckled. "Now that makes sense…"

Suddenly the lights turned on, followed by a loud shouting. Learning from experience about the consequences of not getting up, everyone who was asleep shot straight up immediately.

"The hell?!"

"Is it day already?"

"Motherfucker-!" The doors opened, causing Ibrahim to put out his smoke and Jimmy to hide the message kites.

One of the Zygerrian slavers yelled out in the hallway, "Everyone in this row, out, now!"

Naruto jumped off his bunk bed and rubbed his eyes, before following suit with the others in the flow of slaves getting out of their cells. Glancing at the dark sky, he and the rest couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

…

Everyone was now standing on the ground level, with the vast majority of the slaves talking to one another nervously. The fact that some of them - Naruto included - was a crucial part of the rebellion got them sweating hard.

It took a lot out of Naruto to not try to run, with the blond having to meditate to settle his fears.

_I can't afford to get lost in the dark side now_, Naruto thought to himself. _If we panic, then the entire thing is definitely over._

Still, Naruto couldn't shake off the feeling that something terrible was going to happen soon. Shaking his head, he decided to try to distract himself by taking to his friends. Even talking about bad new was better than letting anxiety chew at his nerves.

"How bad…" Tarik started to ask Naruto.

"I only briefly spoke to Bellatrix when we brought her here. But she was in a pretty bad shape after Sabine and I found her." Naruto told them with a frown. "...So what now?"

"We'll need to keep this a secret." Tarik stated. "We'll have to bring her to the secret caves if we want to keep her safe. Plus, she needs all the medical and mental help we can give."

"But Idel and Bellatrix aren't allowed to leave the infirmary," Adrik reminded him of the fact the medical personnel were restricted in movement. "So letting them come in is impossible."

"Sabine can help her," Naruto suggested. "She's got some medical experience, so she can help. Plus, she's the only other person that can be close to her without being frightened by her presence."

"Yes, and we can let some of the supplies for her be smuggled through our usual routes. That's for you to do, Ibrahim."

"No problem." The Libyan nodded while chewing on a stick. "But we gotta think how we need to close ranks when it comes to incidents like this against the other women. Try and cover them from such actions."

"That's where we'll talk to Hera once we see her." Adrik told them, since she'll know what to do already.

"Formation!"

The loud shout from the Zygerrian slaver got all the slaves to run into formation, with the disorganized crowd turning into rows of people within seconds. It was normal protocol if they wanted to make an example, or if they wanted to do a mass killing. But then came the slavers. D'Nar was seen walking up front with a few of his Pykes Sentinels, but they also were accompanied by a few men in white robes that looked like scientists - people they've never seen before.

"My slaves from the Omega sector!" D'Nar spoke in glee at his personal collection. "I came here, to congratulate you all!" This earned him some uncomfortable/anxious looks, which he visibly relished. "Because of your hard work, my mines have shown excellent profit and investment!"

If one looked between the lines, they would realize that he was referring to the fact that the human race was surprisingly more durable on this planet, with the other species tending to die out much faster due to their biology. This led to D'Nar needing to replace slaves a lot less over the past few months.

"As a reward, I will allow you to take a break from all this spice mining by allowing you to be chosen as participants of a new project!"

Naruto's glare turned into a look of confusion and uncertain fear. What the hell could he be planning now?

"I like to introduce you to these gentlemen of science!" D'Nar pointed to the men in white lab coats. "These men are from the Umbrella Corporation, a well known organisation for those Earthlings from the Western Atmosphere."

"Umbrella Corporation? What the hell are these guys doing here? I heard they're supposed to be pharma-guys…"

More whispers like that began to spread like wildfire. Evidently, these guys are pretty well known back in Earth, making Naruto wonder just how much pull they have.

"Silence!" D'Nar barked as his men moved towards them with the scientists. "They'll handpick the finest of you lot for the upcoming task of supporting them in their findings."

Soon after he said that, the scientists wasted no time checking and picking various people they thought were good for whatever twisted project they had in mind, and were forced to wait in a separate area as another group.

"Her too," One of the two scientists said, picking an African woman who was pushed forward by a Sentinel.

Naruto began to sweat. They were picking subjects rather quickly, and he was dangerously close to being next.

_*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*_

Suddenly Tarik's coughing started to rile up. The man fell onto his knees as he began gasping for air, holding his chest.

"Tarik, get up!" Adrik hissed/yelled, but it was too late. The second scientist turned his head towards the source of the coughs, and quickly walked up to him, brushing past Adrik.

"We'll take him too. Might as well put him to some use before he kicks it." The scientist pointed at Tarik, prompting the Sentinel grab him by the arm to drag him away.

Adrik was about to intervene when-

"Wait!"

The scientist and Sentinel turned around to see one of the bigger slaves walk up to them, making the Sentinels raise their blasters in warning. The large man raised his hands, and Naruto instantly recognized him as Bomber

"Let me take his place. He's obviously not well." Bomber said, looking down at both the Sentinel and the scientists. This caused the Pykes to walk up to him, pointing their guns and staffs at him in a threatening manner.

"Get back in line before I-" The Pyke got cut off by the hand of the scientist, who took a good look at the operator of the burning unit, and thought about it.

"Sure. Go over there." the scientist ordered. "Forget the other one."

The sentinel holding Tarik dropped him carelessly, telling him to get back in line as they escorted Bomber towards the other group. The Urzik man was being helped up by Adrik, who looked at him in concern "What the fuck man, you sick?"

"The...coughing...sorry." Tarik looked down and saw that droplets of blood were on his hand. "I need to….go back to Idel…*_Cough!_*"

"ATTENTION!"

They all turned back forwards as D'Nar was on the word again. He eyed his remaining slaves, frowning at how many he was going to lose, before turning back to the group of chosen "participants". All the slaves watched as the chosen slaves were all put in formation, with Bomber being at the front.

"Psst, Naruto."

Naruto tried turning to the person next to him, but felt something shoved right into his pocket, and the mystery man told him, "Bomber gave me this, told me to pass it to you. Told me you'd understand."

Naruto looked over at his large friend in concern, and saw how the large Russian was looking at his direction, nodding to him to tell him that he was going to be alright.

As they began walking right towards the new, white tunnel, these chosen participants grew worried as they looked at the sunlight for the last time, not knowing if they'll ever see it again

**That's for today, folks, hope you all like it. Leave reviews if you like.**

**Good day!**


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